How Technology Has Influenced the Winter Sports Industry

From the Wi-Fi-enabled appliances in your catered chalet, and the apps that tell you when discount rates are available at your favourite Alpine resort, to the Bluetooth and wireless connections in all your gear, there’s no doubt that technology has definitely changed skiing, snowboarding and the entire winter sports industry.

Here are just a few of the ways technology is changing winter sports – and for the better!

Technology in your gear

Lighter skis, high tech suits that help make sure you have better balance on the slopes, Bluetooth gloves, and helmets that help you control everything from music to cameras – there are a lot of developments that help you get the most out of skiing and snowboarding.

Apps

Want to find out where your friends are before leaving your catered chalet? Want to help out on a rescue? There’s an app for that! Want to know where the best powder is before going backcountry skiing? A company called AvaTech, has developed a probe that connects to skiers’ smartphones and detects snow density and quality, sending it to the company’s network, AvaNet, where one can check snow conditions on different areas and sites. It’s not purely for convenience – it’s technology that can save lives, particularly by identifying avalanche-prone locations. While there is also plenty of technology now that can help people survive avalanches, prevention is always better than the cure.

Action cameras - the Go Pro!

While there are plenty of technological developments that have changed the face of winter sports, perhaps none have reached as widely and as pervasively as the action camera, particularly the Go Pro. Affordable enough for everyone there are many ways winter sportspeople are using them.

As a learning tool. GoPro videos now abound, allowing many beginners to learn the moves along with the best of them. While previously you needed someone else to take a video with a video camera, edit it and then upload it, activity on the slopes can now go online almost as soon as it happens. You can learn cool tricks from the experts, or analyse your own moves and track your skill progression.

To check snow conditions. If you want to know conditions on the slopes before you leave your catered chalet, check out the videos of the people who are already there. Social media and tagging has made this particularly easy. You can find your friends or find the run of your dreams!

To just share! Put a GoPro on a helmet mount and you get to share the thrill of those runs with everyone. They can feel every bump, the experience of flying through the air and everything else you experience yourself.

Technology is nothing short of awesome, and it is changing and advancing rapidly. In fact, with Go Pro videos, there is even some virtual reality gear that can help you practice your moves without even leaving your cosy catered chalet! Although that's maybe not quite the point…

Danielle Hodges is the Marketing Manager for Ski Amis, a specialist ski travel agency and booking service offering bonded holidays staying in a catered or self catered chalet in La Tania and other fantastic destinations. For a luxury or good-value skiing holiday and the best catered chalets call Ski Amis.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.