Best Apps for Skiers and Snowboarders

If you find the time and moolah to go skiing, don’t waste your snow day pulling out the phone to let everyone know you’re drinking cocoa at the midway. There are a host of outdoorsy apps that could prove useful in optimizing your time at the mountain. Whether it’s keeping a digital eye on everyone’s location, or tracking vertical feet, utilize your smart phone effectively, not often. And to get you started on optimizing your ski experience, here are 10 ski apps to download right now:

OFFGRID, FOR ANDROID

A recently released new app made for the outdoorsman or woman who has trouble unplugging at the right moments. By a push of a single button, OFFGRID blocks all incoming messages to your smart phone. With a firewall that can be surpassed by certain exceptions, and an automatic reply letting possible peace-time intruders know you’ve stepped away a moment, it’s perfect for someone who likes to escape for a couple of hours. Offering a report detailing what you’ve missed while you were out, OFFGRID is for those who like to earn their escapes as well.

SKI TRACKS, FOR IPHONE

Ski Tracks is a great mobile GPS app that allows you to track your runs, routes, and elevation all day as you bomb it down some black diamonds. With over 14 hours of available storage, you’ll have to resort to night skiing to fill up its memory. And the best part, when you get home you can upload your day’s data onto your computer and get a cool portrait showing what your day was like.

LIFTOPIA, FOR IPHONE

Liftopia does offer local snow and ski reports, so you can check out the closest powder. But its best use comes from the lift ticket discount finder. Browse the updated selection of deals from your favorite mountain’s ticket windows. Find that great deal and suddenly that dream run of yours, or that weekend vacation, just became a little bit less expensive.

REALSKI, FOR IPHONE

With over 100 North American Mountains in its database, the RealSki app is free, but the mountains are not. For just 0.99 cents, download your local mountain and use the augmented reality of your iPhone to navigate yourself down the mountain. With the ability to geo-tag objects like your parked car or powder-stashes; this app could be the first step in knowing the mountain like the back of your hand.

SKI & SNOW REPORT, FOR IPHONE AND ANDROID

A great place to start, the Ski and Snow Report app tracks your location and displays ski and snow reports in the surrounding mountains. Free for both users, this app is great for the info; fresh snow, snow base, lifts open & lifts closed, trail maps, and mountain webcams. And it’s a quick reference for deciding how many layers to wear or for sniffing out powder stashes.

WAZE, FOR IPHONE AND ANDROID

Sometimes the hardest part of your day is just getting to the mountain. Use Waze if you’re visiting a major slope-station and check out real time updates of the best driving routes. Notices like pass conditions, congestion, and accident reports will get you taking the most effective route to favorite mountain attractions. And with a gas station comparison, Waze will get you buying the cheapest gas as well.

ALPINEREPLAY, FOR IPHONE AND ANDROID

For the most comprehensive set of stats about your ski day, turn to AlpineReplay. This app for both systems tracks not only your speed, vertical drop, and total distance, but you can also check out calories burnt, airtime, and time spent on the lifts. A great way to break down your day and record the progress you make all season long.

PEAKS & PEAKS.AR, FOR IPHONE AND ANDROID

One question commonly heard atop the ski lift is “what peak is that over there?” And now, if the wind gusts aren’t too heavy, a smart phone can answer that. Just point your camera in the direction of your mysterious peaks, open either the Peaks or Peaks.AR app and see for yourself. With detailed listings of everything that peaks, this app will get you knowing the landscape you see before you.

EPICMIX, FOR IPHONE AND ANDROID

A social app for some of the biggest resorts in the west (Vail, Beaver Creek, Breck, Keystone, +6 more), this app allows you to find friends, share mountain statuses, and track your vertical distance. Earn pins along the way denoting you as king/queen of the mountain, and gain all the professional pictures taken of you after your visit to the resort. Get your free account today.

KINOMAP MAKER, FOR ANDROID

If you enjoy geocaching, or the idea of leaving little presents hidden on a map; the Kinomap Maker is perfect for you. This app allows you to record video at specific geographic locations, and using your phone’s GPS, store the video at that particular location. It is then thrown onto Google maps, publicly or privately, to be seen by those who travel there next. It’s a fun way to leave your mark without touching a stone. Or perhaps an effective tool for an elaborate scavenger hunt…?