This is the opening greeting from an information kiosk at Smugglers’ Notch Ski Area in Jeffersonville, Vt. Upon arrival at the front desk, the kiosk provides information via state-of-the-art computer technology to orient visitors to places and activities.
Sherpa’s opening screen shows computer animations portraying life at Smugglers’ — much like the introduction to a video game machine — and invites guests to ask for information by touching appropriate buttons on the monitor. Guests never know when an animated car will come revving down a map or a musical jingle will sing out. They enjoy occasional crusty, down-home opinions from the Sherpa character, a scraggly-haired mountain guide who doesn’t mince his words.
What sets Sherpa apart is its usefulness. It’s jam-packed with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Smugglers’ Notch and Stowe areas that goes beyond the normal guidebook fare. Besides restaurants and entertainment, it reveals spots known to the locals such as secluded streams, covered “kissing” bridges and enchanting off-the-highway farms.
“Sherpa was designed to be more than an information kiosk,” says Jim Snider, president of Terrajim, Inc., Sherpa’s creator. ” ‘Information kiosk’ conjures up an image of this dumb machine with a lot of random, basically useless facts. That’s not Sherpa. Sherpa is alive and kicking.”
Snider adds that although Sherpa’s knowledge could comprise a thick guidebook, guests see it as simple and accessible. “Guests are only interested in information appropriate to their needs and they want that information delivered in a colorful way,” says Snider. “There’s nothing intimidating about Sherpa. Given a choice between reading an encyclopedic vacation directory or conversing with Sherpa, Sherpa is a hands-down winner.”
For Smugglers’ Notch, which has more than a hundred activities within its own boundaries and many more within a few miles, Sherpa helps guests in a way employees don’t have the time or resources to do. What’s troublesome to describe on paper — like what to do on a rainy day — is simple to describe in a kiosk. No longer do people wander the grounds grumbling about “nothing to do” or not knowing about the Tai Chi class.
“We expect Sherpa not only to provide a valuable service to our guests but also to help train our seasonal and transient work force,” says Bill Stritzler, managing director of the resort. “A few hours on Sherpa and an employee can become an expert on Smugglers’ in a way that just wasn’t possible before.”
Sherpa was developed by Jim and Terra Snider, a husband and wife programming and writing team, and is based on a next-generation computer technology known as “multimedia.” These computers, which have dropped dramatically in price over the last year, handle a variety of media besides text. Sherpa, for example, incorporates high-quality color photos, animations, audio and graphics. With recent price reductions in multimedia technology, a Sherpa computer can be bought for less than $5,000. In two years the Sniders predict the cost to drop to $2,500 or less.
Linda Poppe, who maintains Sherpa for the resort, foresees the time when every new Smugglers’ building will have a “Sherpa Lounge.” “By the mid-1990s,” she says, “the cost of this technology will come down so that every new home and many of the old homes in the Village will be given its own Sherpa. Imagine being able to wake up every morning and getting customized suggestions from your very own living room guide. What an incredible service for guests!”
