No such thing as a free ride

Boarders' identities can be hard to check under layers of cold-weather gear. Photo / Sarah Ivey

The days of borrowing a mate's season pass for a day's free skiing or boarding are fast coming to an end.

As the industry gears up for the season peak, lift operators are on full alert to catch freeloaders.

Sophisticated new smart card technology at Whakapapa and Turoa skifields is already paying off.

So far, 50 people have been caught.

That compares with half a dozen over the whole of last year.

After scanning the card, which can be left inside a pocket, staff can check a good-quality photo on their screen against the face in front of them.

Passes being used fraudulently are cancelled and police sometimes called, depending on the offender's behaviour.

"In the main people are pretty sheepish," said Ruapehu Alpine Lifts marketing manager Mike Smith. "It is usually their mate or brother or sister who is going to get pinged because they have used their pass."

Smith said the company was startled by the number of offenders the $500,000 technology had already picked up.

While South Island fields don't have the same technology, they are warning of a zero tolerance policy for scammers.

NZSki, which owns Coronet Peak, the Remarkables and Mt Hutt, caught 10 people last week trying to get free runs.

Culprits can pay $89 for a day pass and an instant fine of $150, or be handed over to police.

Chief executive James Coddington said most paid up "rather quickly".

Cardrona takes a harder stance, automatically handing offenders to the police. Skiers and boarders caught with forged or altered day passes are also prosecuted. Three offenders were caught on one day last week. "We don't do any bargaining with anybody," said field manager Gary Husband.

Without Ruapehu's technology, South Island operators admit many scammers are probably slipping through unnoticed.

Lift operators, faced with crowds of people impatient to get up the mountain, can find it hard to compare a tiny ID photo with people wearing ski gear.

Treble Cone field operations manager Rosco Davies said many young boarders modelled themselves on American Olympian Shaun White, a redhead who wears a scarf across his lower face to keep off the sun.

Treble Cone had less trouble with "the young and dumb trying to scam their way through life" than other fields because the mountain is steeper than other slopes, attracting skilled skiers and boarders.

At Cardrona, only seven people have been caught trying to beat the system this year, but Husband often saw season passes advertised by people leaving town and admitted more may be skiing for free.

Snow joke

Penalties for fraudsters

Whakapapa and Turoa (Ruapehu Alpine Lifts)
* Borrowed season pass: Pass cancelled and owner charged full price, $695, to replace it. Police involved in only 25 per cent of cases.
* Forged day pass: Referred to police.

Coronet Peak, the Remarkables and Mt Hutt (NZ Ski)
* Borrowed season pass: Instant $150 fine, plus cost of day ticket ($89). If refuse to pay, referred to police. Season pass cancelled. Caught selling season pass to someone else, referred to police.
* Forged or no day pass: Asked to buy $89 day pass and pay $150 fine or be referred to police.

Cardrona
* Borrowed season pass: Pass cancelled. Original holder banned for five years and user referred to police.
* Forged day pass: Police prosecution.

Treble Cone
* Borrowed season pass: Original holder referred to police. Pass cancelled. $1750 for new one.
* No lift pass: Asked to pay for $99 day pass and $99 fine. If payment refused, referred to police.
* Forging lift pass: Referred to police.