Has ski building technology essentially peaked?

Not Sure · Jul 31, 2017

I think base technology is the next thing, Maybe some type of electrically controlled brake system ?. Change base interaction with the snow ? I've seen the heated snowboard vid on You tube so maybe something on that line . Maybe for racing or teaching where a 3rd party can break or govern the speed of a student.

jack97 · Aug 1, 2017

Glenn said:
I think now with the changes in technology; specifically electronics, we expect bit changes every few years. Not all industries operate the same.

mishka said:
... introduction of cap construction to high-volume production which help manufacturers substantially lowers the cost of production that is somewhat change in technology… I think the same trend continue: make skis cheaper "new technology" only on paper

The breakthroughs in semiconductors has made it possible to add more "stuff" in a smaller amount of space at low cost and with high reliability. Few realize that this a manufacturing break through.

Glenn · Aug 1, 2017

Back in the day, a classmate brought in a book on skiing. This was most likely late 80's/early 90's. They had a concept ski and boot system that used magnets to hold...and release. Seemed wild at the time. Now, almost seems plausible.

Highway Star · Aug 7, 2017

There's a huge difference between the two concepts of "design" and "technology". People who conflate two usually don't have more than a surface understanding of either.

Ski design is constantly evolving. Shape, flex and weight. The current trend is to make everything as light as possible - this is not tech, this is a design choice.

Ski Technology is a bit more scattershot. The basic wood/fiberglass/metal/ptex sandwich construction ski has been around since the 1960's. You could easily construct an effective fat, rocketed, sidecut ski with 1960's era ski fabrication techniques and materials. The tech has incrementally improved over the last 50 years, but not as much as people think.

bdfreetuna · Aug 7, 2017

It hasn't peaked but we are in the midst of a golden age of skiing.

Jully · Aug 7, 2017

bdfreetuna said:
It hasn't peaked but we are in the midst of a golden age of skiing.

You really think so? I feel this era is more transitional. The golden age I'd say was in the 90s and a little bit the early 2000s with the boomers just retiring and or with high school aged kids. Now there's a ton of talk about the population declining/skier visits staying flat. Resorts are trying to figure out how exactly to capture and cater to a new demographic.

bdfreetuna · Aug 7, 2017

Things are looking up economically. Skiing has been in a golden age since the 1950s. Equipment and technology make our lives very comfortable while skiing well beyond our prior capabilities.

Demographics can shift pretty quickly and I'd say they become more up in the air in favor of the future of skiing when the economy booms.

Highway Star · Aug 8, 2017

Jully said:
You really think so? I feel this era is more transitional. The golden age I'd say was in the 90s and a little bit the early 2000s with the boomers just retiring and or with high school aged kids. Now there's a ton of talk about the population declining/skier visits staying flat. Resorts are trying to figure out how exactly to capture and cater to a new demographic.

You really only have to look at the age of the lifts at most ski resorts to see that skiing peaked some time in the 80's.

drjeff · Aug 8, 2017

Highway Star said:
There's a huge difference between the two concepts of "design" and "technology". People who conflate two usually don't have more than a surface understanding of either.

Ski design is constantly evolving. Shape, flex and weight. The current trend is to make everything as light as possible - this is not tech, this is a design choice.

Ski Technology is a bit more scattershot. The basic wood/fiberglass/metal/ptex sandwich construction ski has been around since the 1960's. You could easily construct an effective fat, rocketed, sidecut ski with 1960's era ski fabrication techniques and materials. The tech has incrementally improved over the last 50 years, but not as much as people think.

I often wonder how much of the slow ski tech improvement over time is due to actual technical design and/or manufacturing limitations vs the age old issue of bringing new tech to the market at a price point that will appeal to a decent amount of consumers??

I tend to feel the the price point issue may be what's holding back the true large scale design/manufacturing advancements outside of some durability and overall ski weight advances....

drjeff · Aug 8, 2017

Highway Star said:
You really only have to look at the age of the lifts at most ski resorts to see that skiing peaked some time in the 80's.

Tough to say if the ski industry will ever have another "golden era" like that again. The mid 80's to early 90's benefited greatly from so many existing ski areas making the transition form surface and/or low capacity fixed grip lifts to either higher capacity fixed grips lifts and/or the rapidly evolving high speed lift market. Combined with generally easier to obtain permitting for terrain expansion and the overall solid economy for the majority of that time. Not quite sure such a widespread industry building boom like that was, is economically possible for the entire industry from the small local mom and pop hills all the way up the the big players both today, and going forward. Also, nowadays, for many ski areas, at least some of those expansion dollars are being spent on warm weather activities to develop more of a year round customer base, whereas in the past, the vast majority of those expansion dollars were all geared to winter activities....

Domeskier · Aug 8, 2017

drjeff said:
Also, nowadays, for many ski areas, at least some of those expansion dollars are being spent on warm weather activities to develop more of a year round customer base, whereas in the past, the vast majority of those expansion dollars were all geared to winter activities....

Yep, we are in a golden age of water parks, it seems...

djd66 · Aug 8, 2017

I think the big technology changes should be in clothing - not the gear. I would love to see a ski jacket/pants/gloves - that allow me to ski in -10 with 40mph wind and not get cold. With the battery technology that is out there - this should not be that difficult or expensive.

benski · Aug 8, 2017

I think the slowdown in new lifts in part due to the fact that once the detaches were put in, ski areas had less incentive to put more new lifts. The latest innovation is carpet loaders, which are nice but there is no need for new lifts.

Hawkshot99 · Aug 8, 2017

djd66 said:
I think the big technology changes should be in clothing - not the gear. I would love to see a ski jacket/pants/gloves - that allow me to ski in -10 with 40mph wind and not get cold. With the battery technology that is out there - this should not be that difficult or expensive.

Sounds like a you problem.....Thats not even face mask territory.

dlague · Aug 9, 2017

djd66 said:
I think the big technology changes should be in clothing - not the gear. I would love to see a ski jacket/pants/gloves - that allow me to ski in -10 with 40mph wind and not get cold. With the battery technology that is out there - this should not be that difficult or expensive.

For those really cold days, well heated boots and gloves already exist and the rest is just layering. However, I have not needed heated anything, the right gear and layers is all that is needed along with beer runs every 30-45 minutes.

ironhippy · Aug 9, 2017

dlague said:
For those really cold days, well heated boots and gloves already exist and the rest is just layering. However, I have not needed heated anything, the right gear and layers is all that is needed along with beer runs every 30-45 minutes.

Cold I can deal with by layering rather easily (as you mention).
40 mph winds? No way would I want to be on a ski slope or especially on a lift in those conditions.

Jully · Aug 9, 2017

dlague said:
For those really cold days, well heated boots and gloves already exist and the rest is just layering. However, I have not needed heated anything, the right gear and layers is all that is needed along with beer runs every 30-45 minutes.

I feel the alcohol is a major factor helping out the extremities there!

cdskier · Aug 9, 2017

Jully said:
I feel the alcohol is a major factor helping out the extremities there!

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/alcohol-warms-up/

Jully · Aug 9, 2017

cdskier said:
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/alcohol-warms-up/

So just make sure you don't get hypothermia! It still makes you FEEL warmer, which is all you need!

Not Sure · Aug 9, 2017

ironhippy said:
Cold I can deal with by layering rather easily (as you mention).
40 mph winds? No way would I want to be on a ski slope or especially on a lift in those conditions.

Put some skin lotion on next time you go out. I do all the time you'd be amazed at the difference ,it cuts wind chill in half or better . I can tell when I forget as windburn lasts about 4hrs for me.

Has ski building technology essentially peaked?

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