I was searching through the Apple App Store last night to try and find some cool apps for the winter sports season. I thought I would put a list together for you of the best ones I found- think of them as essential pieces of your snow sports gear! I haven't used all of these apps in earnest yet so don't view this as an endorsement of any of them. I suggest you read all the comments in the iTunes app store before making your decision, at least on the paid apps. So in no particular order here are you winter sports season apps:
1. The North Face Snow Report
The North Face Snow report gives you up to date information on the snow and weather conditions at all your favorite resorts worldwide. The Snow Report also links to avalanche reports for your chosen resort as well as trail maps. The coolest feature has to be the resort specific Twitter feed so you can see what is happening realtime and post directly to your account from the application.
2. Viper SmartStart – This one is for all you Midwesterners. I wish I had this when growing up in Minnesota. The Viper SmartStart lets you securely remote start or lock/unlock your car just by pushing a button on your iPhone/iPod Touch. The application is free but you will need to buy the Viper remote start system from BestBuy at a price of $499.
3. AvalancheUtah
AvalancheUtah gives you access to the latest avalanche advisories from the Utah Avalanche Center, including in-depth advisory details and images.
4. Clif Bar Save Our Snow
On top of the usual snow, weather and lift conditions report for North American ski resorts, the Clif Bar Save Our Snow app tells you what resorts are doing to help save the environment with renewable energy sources, transportation options, waste reduction and education and outreach. The fun part of the application is the Start Global Cooling feature where if you blow into the iPhone microphone, the screen freezes over with ice. Simply swipe your finger over the screen to brush it away!
5. Adaptunes- Speed Based Volume Control
Don't be a slave to your iPhone's hard to reach volume control while skiing. Adaptunes allows you to set a minimum and maximum volume preference for all your activities this winter sports season. The faster you move, the louder your music gets. Come to a stop and Adaptunes will dim your volume low enough for you to communicate with those around you.
6. EuroSmartz SnowTrails
SnowTrails is a fun application that will enable you to record all sorts of information about each of your ski or snowboard runs. You will be able to see what speed you were doing, G force you pulled, altitude readings, and jump airtime, among others. The application plays back your run in real or double time with all the detailed information, enabling you to compare runs, performance at different times of day, etc.
7. Big Air iTrailMap 3D
The iTrailMap 3D application combines traditional trail maps with GPS tracking and interactive 3D maps. You can see where you are on the mountain using the iPhone's built in GPS receiver, record your tracks, then upload them to the web to view in Google Earth. The application also records your total altitude gained and distance skied or snowboarded.
8. John Sherry Animated Rope Knots
Since I plan on doing lots of ice climbing this winter sports season, I figured this app would be very useful as it is always good to review knots and have an information source on hand just in case. The application has animated videos, pictures and detailed descriptions on how to tie 23 different rope knots including 12 hitches, 6 bends and 5 loop knots.
9. Angle of the Ski Slope
This application lets you know exactly how steep the run is that you are about to ski or snowboard down. By holding your iPhone or iPod Touch at the same angle as the ski slope, the application will read back exactly how steep it is. This could come in handy, especially in avalanche situations as certain slopes are more prone to avalanche than others.
10. iSki Trail Maps by Clearlogic Mobile
With the iSki Trail Maps application you will no longer need paper trail maps from your favorite resorts. The maps show details of both ski areas and resorts and link to critical resort information. The nice thing about the app is that is supports ski resorts from all over the world, including Australia and New Zealand!
Hopefully you will enjoy checking out these winter sports season apps. I would love to hear feedback from people that have used these or other apps they have found useful for the winter sports season.