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Ski apps – are they hot or not?

It depends from what angle you look at it and who you ask. Ski apps can measure the speed you fly down the mountain, many would think this is popular with the young spring chickens, the teenagers and the seasonairres, but it seems to be trending throughout all age groups and causing fierce competition between other skiers. Skiing In the era where most people live in the fast lane, be it at work or leisure, everyone has a smart phone, download apps and want to be trending with everyone else. There are, of course, pros and cons of this ski app phenomenon; we take look at the apps, which could enhance your ski holiday, the most common are those that track your speed. FATMAP Ultra-high resolution 3D maps are produced, by a combination of the latest mobile and gaming technology. Accurate GPS-enabled software makes locating yourself in complex terrain a breeze both on and off the mountain. The app’s detailed mapping shows details of your surroundings every 2 metres, enabling you to acquire a defined view of any ski resort. Carefully detailed mapping identifies hidden off-piste lines and even include information on steepness, length and difficulty. Through the 3D fly-through’s, skiers can experience the line before taking on the mountain. Those who prefer the luxury chalet in the ski resort can follow the avid skiers with easy by means of accurate GPS-enabled navigation in ultra-high 3D resolution. The ski app takes the ‘safety-first’ rule of freeriding seriously and therefore FATMAP is equipped with detailed terrain intelligence to detect avalanche risk zones, slope gradients and crevasse zones. Safety decisions will be as easy as sliding down a mountain. Skinet Skinet is an app that brings you information resort by resort, for example you can download the ‘courchnet’ app for location specific information and maps. At a glance, this app gives you the latest news on weather, snowfall, piste maps, useful telephone numbers, restaurants and hotels. This app is your virtual ‘guidebook’, allowing you to leave the tourist guides and maps behind. Alpify A free app for tracking outdoor security, this app allows the user to send their exact position to the rescue teams, in the event of an emergency. It is developed, and intended, for off-piste skiers with an additional level of avalanche safety. Of course, this app and similar, should not replace proper avalanche and off piste training or equipment. iTrail Map Another free app, which allows skiers to download high resolution 2D maps of over 750+ resorts. The maps are stored on the device, making them readily available. You can upgrade the app which will give you access to 3D maps, resorts in 35 states and around the world GPS tracking records of vertical feet and distance skied. This can be uploaded to the web, social media and Google Earth! Tripster Ski The Tripster Ski app is a great gadget, as skiing is a very expensive hobby, this app is free and allows users to download exclusive discounts on lessons, restaurants, equipment hire and much more. Applicable in 25 French Ski Resorts. Instagram The most popular and a firm industry favourite, the social channel allows you to upload powder shots and videos and sharing on other social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Flikr. Share with other ski enthusiasts using various hash tags on your post or why not create a ‘ski diary’ to look back on, once off the hill. Celine Renaud is Head of Sales for Leo Trippi. If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.

Celine Renaud

Celine Renaud is Head of Sales for Leo Trippi – a European agency specialising in renting Catered Chalets, Summer Villas and Chartered Yachts. Celine’s areas of expertise include Courchevel, Val d’Isere, Megève, Méribel & Chamonix in France, Revelstoke in Canada, & St. Barth in the Caribbean.

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One Comment

  1. One to consider not on the list is Navionics. It’s cheap (only £2 on iPhone) and records your tracks, including speeds and vertical. The sell for me was that it doesn’t need 3G – you download the resort maps into it by wifi and it works offline. Drawbacks, such as they are, is that the design is a bit clunky. But it provided much amusement on my last ski trip for half the price of a coffee in a mountain bar.

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