There’s a lot we could have explored in this blog, there’s been many innovations in the snowsports world over the past few years, making a ski adventure easier, cheaper and more enjoyable than ever.
Ski and snowboard technology is advancing every season, ski resorts all over the world are constantly upgrading to give visitors a superior ski experience and at the same time gadgets are becoming much more attainable and cheaper so we can use the same ski gear as ski professionals. We’ve picked out our recent favourites that make our ski holidays better than ever.
Heated Chairlifts
One of the best features of skiing in Kitzbuhel has got to be its large amount of chairlifts with luxurious heated seats. Kitzbuhel has been named one of the top ski areas in the world because of its ultra-advanced lift system, high levels of comfort and excellent snowmaking facilities. There are 10 chairlifts and gondolas in Kitzbuhel which have heated seats, these are spread over the whole ski area and are labelled on the piste map.
Drones
Drones have revolutionised the way we document our skiing and snowboarding adventures. In a small space of time, we have evolved from wobbly iPhone videos to GoPros on selfie sticks to high-quality aerial footage. The Lily Drone allows users to simply throw it in the air and follows them around. There is no controller needed, Lily flies itself and uses GPS and computer vision to follow you around top produce high quality, cinematic style footage.
Wifi On The Slopes
A new Wi-Fi enabled gondola is coming to one of our best-loved ski resorts, the new TC10 Solaise Gondola in Val d’Isere will take you to the top of Solaise in 7 minutes. This gives you enough time to post a photo of your ski holiday straight to Facebook from the slopes. Many more ski areas are starting to include Wi-Fi on the slopes to help you keep in touch with your ski group in resort, plus friends back home whilst on the mountain.
Nike X Transitions Lenses
Nike and Transitions Optical have joined up to create snow goggles with transitions adaptive technology. When the light changes, the lens adapt automatically by darkening or lighting its level of tint, improving your visual performance on the slopes. No need to carry around extra lenses anymore!
Affordable Backcountry Gear
As snowsports enthusiasts are becoming more daring off piste, the correct safety equipment needs to be more readily available. ABS airbag avalanche safety packs have revolutionised off piste safety by using top technology to make mountain exploration safe. Airbags are used to protect you from being buried in the event of an avalanche. Transceivers, shovels and probes are also important for rescue teams to find you and you to help anyone in need. For more information take a read of this Guide to Avalanche Airbags and the best models available.
FATMAP 3D Piste & Freeride Maps
A paper piste map is a thing of the past. FATMAP is the future. This revolutionary 3D skiing app is so much more than just a route finder. Discover new adventures and recommended pistes all from the palm of your hand. The ultra-high resolution 3D mapping technology will change the way you navigate around the mountain by being able to explore every angle on and off piste before even stepping out on to snow. Enjoy your ski holiday to the max by assuring the best time on the slopes. Extra features on the app also include, interactive resort information, pinpointing your location and other friends with the app, freeride mapping and much more.
Oakley Airwave 1.5
The Oakley Airwave goggles have a built in mobile dashboard. The Airwave’s heads-up display uses innovative prism technology to provide the display graphics that look like they are projected 5 feet away. You can track and automatically see your speed, jump airtime, your vertical feet, your location on a piste map, music and much more. Ski goggles fit for James Bond!
New Ski Connections
Every year more and more resorts are becoming interconnected allowing skiers and snowboarders to explore more pistes than ever before. The newly announced ‘Tirol s’ link will connect Fieberbrunn to the Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang area creating one of the largest ski circuits in the world with a total of 240 km of piste and 68 lifts.
Smaller GoPro
Just when you thought they couldn’t get any smaller, GoPro have released the new HERO4 Session which is their smallest, lightest and most convenient camera yet. The waterproof design and small size is perfect for snow sports.
