Hot iPhone apps for skiing.

A new range of Ski School apps (www.SkiSchoolApp.com) have been launched for the apple platform.  Skiers of all levels have a new tool to improve their skills with four apps ranging from Beginner to Advanced now available to download from the App Store for £3.99 each. Continue reading ‘Ski School application promises to give ability improve skiing’

Zoom in on any ski resort while using any of the existing online satellite-image map applications and you’re likely to see a summer, rather than winter image of the resort and its surrounding ski area. You should be able to make out most of the streets and buildings, sometimes even the shadows of ski lift towers & cables on the surrounding mountainsides.

Continue reading ‘New smart phone application gives summer satellite images a glimpse of winter’

Florida, USA

The owners of land in Miami, Florida have proposed an indoor snow centre be built on their site.

The project, called Solar Mountain, would feature indoor ski runs, half pipe, a large ski jump, an ice skating rink as well as retail and non-snow leisure facilities including indoor tennis courts and an indoor arena.

The solar mountain name for the 60m high facility comes from the plan to power it entirely with renewable solar and wind energy.

Continue reading ‘Miami indoor snow centre plans revealed’

An artists' rendering of the SnowVolution rotating disk slope

Some new designs coming from British and Italian companies could mean a future with no ski lift lines and endless ski runs 12 months a year.

The British SnowVolution machine is a snow covered rotating planar disc up to 300 metres (985ft) in diameter, inclined at 25 degrees, divided into four to six concentric rings each 15-30 metres (50-100ft) wide.

The rings rotate independently in either direction at tangential speeds of up to 15 metres/per second. Adjacent rings rotate in the same direction, and with a separating static or stationary ring, the remaining rings rotate in the opposite direction. Skiers and snowboarders are spread across the whole width of the disc giving high levels of utilisation.

Continue reading ‘Mechanical artificial slopes could be the future of skiing’

One of the iconic images of Vancouver’s Olympics was the lone snowboarder making a spectacular jump through the Olympic rings at the start of the opening ceremonies.

But few know that it was Toronto snowboarder Johnny Lyall making this unforgettable entrance into the Stadium, and that it was made on a SnowFlex artificial slope. If the world is a stage, then Snowflex was cast in a prominent supporting role on the biggest stage and in front of one of the largest audiences in the world, and so was Lyall.

Continue reading ‘The making of Vancouver’s opening moment’

Buy tomorrow's pass from anywhere.

A new iPhone app that’s been released lets users quickly and securely buy a ski pass from their iPhone.

The new iSkiPass from SkiData is the first ski pass reservation application for iPhones. It is currently only available on the App Store but will soon be accessible on other mobile platforms.

The system works by loading purchased passes automatically onto an RFID card, which is a keycard or a Swatch Snowpass. Skiers can use this card to directly access all ski lifts. This process, which is highly convenient when on the go, helps avoid waiting in line at ticketing offices and is the perfect complement to online reservations.

Continue reading ‘Buy lift tickets from your iPhone’