Is ski GPS a good idea?

[New Daddy]

The following product was featured in yesterday's Sunday Globe: http://www.satsportsgps.com/satski/
Is ski GPS a good idea? Has anyone had experience with this kind of product?
For one thing, I doubt you'd be able to see anything on a washed-out LCD screen on a bright sunny day.

 

[4aprice]

I have a handheld GPS that I have skied with but I use it mostly to check on elevations and as questionable as ski area statistics are the hand held (not an expensive one) is not that accurate either.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[soulseller]

There are several iphone apps out there that do roughly what that thing does and this company offers apps for winmo and android phones.

I do not have an iphone so I can not attest to the usefulness but I can tell you with some certainty it can not be worth $600. If I had a phone that supported one of these apps I would spend the $10 for the app without thinking twice.

 

[billski]

Not much use for East Coast skiing to me. Pretty hard to get lost. Maybe, good for backcountry or multi-mountain resorts out west or Europe.
I'd rather have a generic GPS.

The other problem is that we often ski so fast that there might only be a couple data points collected. Sounds un-exciting to me.

 

[andyzee]

Don't see much difference between this and a Hiking GPS

 

[bvibert]

Looks pretty neat, if you're at one of the resorts that has the trail map overlay and other information... It doesn't look like a whole lot of the NE ski areas mapped are out. It would be more useful if you're at a big western or European resort that you're unfamiliar with I suppose.

 

[drjeff]

If your a techno geek who loves to track every last detail about your day (miles skied/verts covered/etc) then you'll probably think that this is a really cool thing.

If that type of detail about your day just doesn't really excite you, well then you'd likely use it once or twice and then that would be it.

 

[jaywbigred]

I thought this said "is ski GSS a good idea" when i first read it. Ha!

 

[rocojerry]

I have a GPS Datalogger (no screen, just keeps track of where I go)

http://www.qstarz.com/ I think I have the bt-q1000 version.

Its nice to see your tracks on a google map when you get home... I like it because I don't have to take it out and fiddle with it really ever.... but I do have to remember to put it on in the morning, or after lunch if I turn it off for a few minutes....

It does have 'bluetooth' too so I can use the screen/maps on my phone if I really want, although I've never used it skiing..... maybe would in a pinch if I got lost in backcountry...

 

[tekweezle]

I was looking at buying a Garmin Oregon 300 or 400 and the snowranger GPS maps but I have been waiting for a better GPS to put it on. was holding out for a do it all GPS that has text to speech for driving directions and uses rechargable AA batteries.

http://www.mountaindynamics.com/en/snowranger.php

 

[chrisrunsi]

I havea garmin forerunner. It's really for biking/cycling and other sports that you are keeping track of pace and distance. I used it a couple times last year just to see how much I really ride on a day. Elevation readout was pretty spot on as the lifts are pretty slow so it has time to calculate the changes. Cool things to know but wouldn't get me out of a jam if I got lost, although you can back track with a very basic 2D map. It would at least have you pointed in the right direction.

 

[billski]

Hmmm. Will Dominos deliver to a GPS address?

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

too much technology invading the slopes from cell phones, ipods, gps.....use the mtns to unclick from it all and get back to the simple pleasure of riding on the snow and the sounds the mtns has to offer....no better sound than snow or even ice under my skis....

 

[billski]

too much technology invading the slopes from cell phones, ipods, gps.....use the mtns to unclick from it all and get back to the simple pleasure of riding on the snow and the sounds the mtns has to offer....no better sound than snow or even ice under my skis....

All my technology stays "off" except for tunes when skiing and the log trakker for hiking to look at when I'm back home. The last thing I ever, ever want is to receive a cell call while on the mountain.

 

[bigbog]

...Don't know about anything connected with skiing here..escept backcountry skiing out west or up in Canada...away from established operations. I can definitely see some sort of GPS applications for backcountry usage though. There's just so much a topo-map can offer(without usage of coordinates) when you're in the middle of the woods. Haven't heard or seen much of any specific application of late, but then I haven't looked..LOL. Would help if communications with satellite during a heavy snowstorm would be possible..y/n??, cuz finding landmarks and getting your bearings in stormy weather is the toughest. When out without a compass up here in the woods...my directional bearings have gotten twisted a bit after simply making a number of turns in rough country with trees forming a canopy here & there..on cloudy days. It is tough to sometimes judge what small mountain you're approaching, it can get to the point of it all looking the same up here in the boreal growth. Haven't even looked at anything of late though.... Not much help I know...LOL.

$.01

 

[dmc]

too much technology invading the slopes from cell phones, ipods, gps.....use the mtns to unclick from it all and get back to the simple pleasure of riding on the snow and the sounds the mtns has to offer....no better sound than snow or even ice under my skis....

haha... not a chance... I like a soundtrack to my inbounds riding and skiing...

I'll save those moments for BC trips..

I CAN have it all...

 

[dmc]

GPS is great - I used mine on my last trip to mark lines and climbing routes.. and to make sure we were not skiing into Pakistan..

 

[dmc]

All my technology stays "off" except for tunes when skiing and the log trakker for hiking to look at when I'm back home. The last thing I ever, ever want is to receive a cell call while on the mountain.

I only use the cell phone when I'm working.. I've had some great ski days while working...

 

[WJenness]

All my technology stays "off" except for tunes when skiing and the log trakker for hiking to look at when I'm back home. The last thing I ever, ever want is to receive a cell call while on the mountain.

I shoot for this most of the time... but some days I just have to have my cell phone on.

The first day I got in this year, I was only able to get in because I got someone else to run a fencing tournament, and helped them through the day via phone.

It worked out great for me. I got to ski and the tournament ran OK.

Ideally, I wouldn't have had to do that, but it was better than not skiing.

This probably encompasses less than 3 days in the course of a season though.

I usually have the phone on me though because it's useful after getting separated in a spread out place like SR.

-w