After recently coming back from spending a weekend on the slopes at Sunday River in Newry, Maine, I decided to look into some skiing and boarding gadgets. I had seen people using their iPods, attaching cameras on their helmets, and even pulling out their Blackberry phones to use as trail maps. I suppose the phone is easier to pull out than a paper trail map that will rip as you open it, but this is just more proof that technology will continue to make its way to the slopes. I am personally against technology on the slopes, but unfortunately, I do not think that we will be able to keep our slopes technology free in today’s world.
That being said, here is a gadget that I could be convinced of supporting. Called the SlopeTracker, this three ounce gadget straps to your arm and then proceeds to spend the day logging your coordinates and calculating all kinds of interesting information. The SlopeTracker can log vertical feet, distance ridden, top speed, number of runs, the average grade of the slopes, and difficulty rating. To make this gadget even more effective, the SlopeTracker allows you to get a full print sheet of your performance. You even can get a GPS map of your skiing or boarding adventure.
If you want to talk about costs, I should let you know that the SlopeTracker is available for rent at a number of resorts including Winter Park, Park City, Telluride, Keystone, Copper, Deer Valley, and Sunshine Village. However, if you are looking to buy this gadget, you will have to look for a version of the device, STATS, that is available for purchase. As of 2009, this gadget is able to operate at over 640 resorts. Something like this is a great tool to have to see how you have improved, but it also is a luxury gadget.
The SlopeTracker is “the DNA of your extraordinary snow day.”
