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Ski Resort Trends

VTKilarney

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Welcome back snowlover! :D

A) I'd rather walk on broken glass than ski Tugg Hill.
B) Snowlover was wrong. I never take issue with being told that I'm wrong when I am indeed wrong. I'm also VERY willing to listen to, and learn from, any counterpoint that is based on reason.

In all seriousness, if I was wrong, tell me why. If I wasn't wrong, why are people taking pleasure in being antagonistic? Isn't that EXACTLY what snowlover used to do? Why is a double standard so quickly embraced?
 

skiNEwhere

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I'm just giving you a hard time. No hard feelings :smash:

On an unrelated note, even though he did annoy me in the fact that he got good threads locked, he did have an uncanny ability to make interesting discussions and create threads that generated 10 pages of response in one day, I will give him that
 

VTKilarney

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I'm just giving you a hard time. No hard feelings :smash:

That's cool, and thanks for saying it. Maybe I need some more experience around here, but, subjectively, it wasn't coming across that way. Admittedly, I get wound up when people criticize a reasoned idea without any factual basis. I can do better just accepting that this is part of life.

I'd offer to kiss and make up, but most people vomit within mere minutes after kissing me. :)

Happy to move on...
 

dlague

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Holy shit! After reading this thread - I am ready to jump in front of a car! My life is over!

There were some good points - here and there!

I think the big push will be to find alternative approaches to increase revenue that will encourage the non skier or non snowboarder to visit the mountain during the winter and additionally in the summer! It is really ramping up right now at some resorts!
 

skiNEwhere

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I think the big push will be to find alternative approaches to increase revenue that will encourage the non skier or non snowboarder to visit the mountain during the winter and additionally in the summer! It is really ramping up right now at some resorts!

I call this "Intrawesting"

Slopeside condo? Check
Gold course? Check
Slopeside shopping? Check
Zip line and or alpine slide? Check
Mountain bike trails? Check

Once all is said and done, the ski area has been intrawested and can now be called a resort
 

abc

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That would freak me out if it pops up while I am skiing. I would crash.
Sorry I was typing from my phone and couldn't complete the post as I wanted (but it got the idea across).

It should only come up on demand (voice preferred). But instead of the entire map of the whole darn mountain of 1000 acre, it should only show the trails of the surrounding area. Ideally, the trail in the skier's perspective, superimposed with trail names. Kind of like trail signs, but projected right in front so you don't have to ski up to the physical sign itself.
 

VTKilarney

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Tremblant is a real leader in developing summer revenue. I agree that more resorts will jump on this bandwagon.
 

VTKilarney

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Sorry I was typing from my phone and couldn't complete the post as I wanted (but it got the idea across).

It should only come up on demand (voice preferred). But instead of the entire map of the whole darn mountain of 1000 acre, it should only show the trails of the surrounding area. Ideally, the trail in the skier's perspective, superimposed with trail names. Kind of like trail signs, but projected right in front so you don't have to ski up to the physical sign itself.

I think you are on to something there. Goggles could have a built in heads up display with users deciding what is displayed. The goggles could display things such as speed, distance to a turnoff, directions, air temperature, etc.
 

skiNEwhere

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I think you are on to something there. Goggles could have a built in heads up display with users deciding what is displayed. The goggles could display things such as speed, distance to a turnoff, directions, air temperature, etc.

Smith has the I/o recon which does some of what you said. I'm sure that stuff could be added on later models with cooperation from the resorts.
 

abc

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My post was "inspired" by what's already out there. So the technology already exist but looking for a meaningful usage.

Information such as speed and temperature is kind of the obvious but I'm not sure how many really care to know.

On the other hand, trail map/direction is an application that really can use some updating! And that technology would be ideal to pair with the resort to really make a difference in skier experience.

I'm pretty confident it will one day be THE way we find our ways around resorts. But I'm less confident that it will actually happen in the next 10 years. Being a tech worker, I found adoption of technology has been surprisingly slow in the non-tech world.
 

Domeskier

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Xanadu will finally open and ski domes will spread like wildfire across the country.
 

VTKilarney

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My post was "inspired" by what's already out there. So the technology already exist but looking for a meaningful usage.

Information such as speed and temperature is kind of the obvious but I'm not sure how many really care to know.

On the other hand, trail map/direction is an application that really can use some updating! And that technology would be ideal to pair with the resort to really make a difference in skier experience.

I'm pretty confident it will one day be THE way we find our ways around resorts. But I'm less confident that it will actually happen in the next 10 years. Being a tech worker, I found adoption of technology has been surprisingly slow in the non-tech world.

That's a very good point. There is enough to concentrate on when skiing that a heads up display risks being a nuisance if not implemented properly. I've got a heads up display in my car, and I found that I quickly opted to have it only display my speed. Everything else seemed to have more distraction than benefit. But having my speed displayed, I am AMAZED at how much more aware I am of my speed. With a car that has some horsepower under the hood, it's saved me from some speeding tickets for sure. The awareness differential is striking when I get behind the wheel of a car without a HUD.

So what would really benefit skiers and not wind up being a mere distraction? I think that directional assistance is definitely a big plus. I also think that some sort of terrain avoidance would come in very handy. (such as for skiers who want to avoid expert trails, moguls, etc.)
 

jimk

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I was talking with someone from the USMC recently about ground troops wearing google glass type device in a tactical situation and he said there are some big issues with it. Nausea is one, something about the proximity of the display so close to the eye, even with just slow walking movements. High speed skiing could be much worse??
Also, they provide great "big picture" info, but are vulnerable to being distracted and not detecting an attack by from enemy ground troop just outside their peripheral vision. Snowboarder popping out of woods without looking up trail could be much worse??

Some good stuff in this thread! Domes with terrain parks 20 minutes outside urban areas could be the great new 21st Century feeder hills??
 

abc

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I think that directional assistance is definitely a big plus. I also think that some sort of terrain avoidance would come in very handy. (such as for skiers who want to avoid expert trails, moguls, etc.)
That would be quite easy to do, the trail display will have colors, black/blue/green. And if it has bumps? I personally will code it as giant hills on the trail! :)

Oh, a voice calling out "Bump ahead!" when you venture down a notoriously moguled trail! :D

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. I think RFID will be wide spread, so will HUD on goggles. But I'm not sure that'll be in the 20's or even before that. Or it could remain a fringe thing because some other technology leapfrog past these!
 

Smellytele

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Then why immediately comment: "Mr Doom an Gloom. Turn back, we're doomed. We're never going to make it."

Was that your attempt to make the thread "fun" for everyone? If you are serious about keeping things fun, you could have said something like: "I don't think things will be as bad as you, so here are some of my predictions..."

Take some accountability for the tone your comment set.

So now let's get back to the fun...

Because what you were posting was anything but a fun off-season thread
 

VTKilarney

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Because what you were posting was anything but a fun off-season thread

If the OP had a problem with my post, I would have gladly deleted it. But unless I'm mistaken, there is no Moderator badge near your username. Did I miss it?

For me, "fun" is the speculation itself. Apparently you view "fun" as solely content driven. This is a good example of why we shouldn't have 1,000 self-appointed moderators. Different people view things differently. A little diversity is not a bad thing when it comes to an internet forum, no?

I said I was happy to move on - and did just that. So why the snark? If you don't want to move on, so be it. But try not to get upset just because somebody thinks differently than you do. Life is too short.
 
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ss20

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A minute from the Alta exit off the I-15!
Its cool. By "fun" I was just trying to protect the "this is a stupid thread" comments that some of the more serious members post.

This is unlikely, but i'd like to see an advancement in lift technology. The last big innovation was the detachable quads in the 80s.
 

skiNEwhere

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-2020 Every major ski resort will be owned by a large corporation that owns a dozen other resorts. Ma and pa ski areas will struggle to survive due to massive competition driving down season pass prices
 

dlague

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triple digit lift ticket prices will be common place for those who are crazy enough to pay for them!
 
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