Wicket (ski)

A lift ticket or lift pass is an identifier usually attached to a skier's outerwear that indicates they have paid and can ride on the ski lift up a mountain to ski.

Lift tickets may vary by time period, or type of lift. Some resorts use digital cards embedded with RFID chips. These cards are kept in a pocket during the skier's visit to the resort as they do not need to be removed for the access gate to detect them.

Formerly it was common to use a wicket for skiing (also called a ticket wicket), a short piece of light wire which loops through the clothing of a customer. The wicket was invented by Killington Ski Resort employee Charlie Hanley, and given its name by his wife Jane. The ticket wicket was patented in 1966, and licensed to ski areas across the U.S. following a road show sponsored by Killington. Despite quick and widespread adoption of the wicket, Hanley never made any money off the soon-ubiquitous ticket wicket; an avid skier, he was content to invent something that further developed the then-nascent sport of downhill skiing. It was patented again in 1995. Before ticket wickets, lift tickets were stapled or glued directly to clothing. It made tampering with the lift ticket difficult. The wicket inspired several innovations to make its use more convenient, such as ski ticket holder pigtail. In addition, many ski jackets are designed with wickets in mind, providing plastic or cloth loops that allow the attachment of a wicket without interfering with zipper operation.

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