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As you may have noticed in recent years, visual products and marketing and experience are on my brain. We live in a very visual society where a huge amount of our communication is now in the form of photos, videos, images, and illustrations. 

This dynamic, magnified by social media, has led to a very unique time of human motivation that I’ve described like this.

“What they’re saying is sharing photos is NOT just something people do along the way, sharing photos is the REASON people are doing things. The HOPE of being able to share a cool photo is the REASON they got off the couch and pulled out their credit card in the first place.”

In response, we have to often rethink many of our experiences and look at them through this lens of not just how much fun they are, but how well they present themselves visually and through the lens of someone’s smartphone.

A gondola ride is a perfect example of this.

Yes, you get amazing views from a gondola cabin as it climbs to the top of your mountain. And, yes, the views from the top are exceptional. But do you know what makes those views even more dramatic and, when posted on social media, more engaging?

Sunset.

The best sunsets in the world are found right here in the Grand Canyon State. And now, we’re excited to offer the opportunity to see them in a brand new way from 11,500 feet during our sunset gondola rides in July.

Learn more at https://t.co/CCpjQ9GcBM pic.twitter.com/PdneDiHcd2

— Arizona Snowbowl (@AZSnowbowl) June 16, 2021

Notice the timestamp on that tweet: June 2021. For the last few years, Arizona Snowbowl has been taking an already amazing experience – their gondola rides – and are layering on an extra dose of visual impact by changing their hours to allow for folks to take a ride and see an amazing sunset. 

Once again in 2025, this product is back and serving up visuals in ways almost no other resorts are or can.

Experience a dreamy sunset like this with our Sunset Gondola Rides this weekend 😍

Available on Fridays & Saturdays throughout the summer, Sunset Gondola Rides offer an experience like no other. Tickets are still as low as $29 – buy yours below!https://t.co/HLYcTmcqTF pic.twitter.com/ZSezknDVro

— Arizona Snowbowl (@AZSnowbowl) June 27, 2025

As you think about this concept, ask yourself a simple question:

What percentage of people who take these gondola rides will take (and likely share) at least one picture along the way?

In 2025, the answer is likely pretty dang close to 100%.

Again, people are doing activities not just for the experience, but for the photos they can take along the way. The photos are a deciding factor. And Arizona Snowbowl is building that motivator directly into the product. And every one of those photos? That’s free marketing for the resort.

It’s would have been a smart move before the era of smartphones, but now it’s an incredibly powerful idea.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.