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Lifehacker
For some, it's more police. For others, it's better traffic management. For Riverhead Resorts, though, what Long Island needs more than anything else is a 35-story man-made ski resort. As you could easily imagine, a few (read: lots and lots) of people aren't too happy about the two billion dollar proposal, but the concept is stunning.
Posted by Nick Broughall at 8:39 AM on June 2, 2008
There's only five more sleeps until the Australian snow season kicks off, and even though a quick check of the NSW resort's snow cams shows that there isn't too much of the powdery white stuff on the ground at the moment, it's still shaping up to be an awesome year in the "alps". Why, you ask? Because this year, there's an awesome new gadget to track your runs using a combination of GPS and GPRS technology.
It's called Flaik, and last Friday it walked away with the top prize at the Australian International Design Awards.
Posted by Nick Broughall at 10:21 AM on May 26, 2008
With the snow season practically over, we are starting to miss those winter days of snowboarding and hot tubbin'. This summer when the snow is long gone we might actually have an outlet for our snow-sport deprived lives. The Wii Fit. There is a whole set of mini-games that take place on the mountain. With games that range from ski jumping to snowboarding, it makes us wonder if it will be enough to kill the mid-summer, snow-missin' blues.
io9 found this great concept by Danish design architects BIG which places a hotel against the side of a mountain with the idea that hotel patrons can finish off a ski or snowboard run by riding directly to their floor. The hotel looks absolutely epic, and I like the way the wavy lines of the hotel match the tracks left on snow by skis and snowboards. [BIG via io9]
Say you're Brian Lam, out there on the slopes of Tahoe, snowboarding as your iPhone drops the biggest beats since the Propellerheads' dropped Decksanddrumsandrockandroll. It sounds grand, but there's a logistical problem: You have goggles, plus the earmuffs your mum knitted for you, plus your (definitely not white) earbuds, all connected to your head using different straps, levers and pulleys. Von Zipper combines them all into one easy system: the US$20 Snow Muffs/H-Phones will attach to most ski goggles—but particularly those that Von Zipper by coincidence also sells, for US$60 to $160. [Product Page via Book of Joe]
The ski resort of Les Deux Alps wants to give visitors a chance to experience what it is like to be caught in an avalanche and learn how to survive without all of that messy "white death" business. The "Robocoaster," as it is called, was the brainchild of of local businessman Marc Dode, who lost a friend in an avalanche several years ago. The simulator is encased in a large dome that features two cabins and a large fan to blow cold air.
It has been a month or two since the Ski Mojo made its debut, but given the fact that winter is fast approaching for many of us, it seems more appropriate to alert any older, weaker and lazier skiers out there now. After all, the Ski Mojo allows these folks to better enjoy a day on the slopes thanks to shock absorbers set around the thighs. It is intended to minimize aches and pains while increasing stamina and promoting better skiing posture.
O'Neill is offering its European market a glimpse of the snowy future with the NavJacket, a GoreTex parka with a stitched-in GPS receiver, speakers in the hood, and a "flexible display sleeve." We don't have any demonstration video (but damn do we wish we did). In fact, this is really the only picture floating around. But here's what we know:
• You'll get navigational guidance along mountain ski trails with both visual and audio cues.
• Other realtime data like current speed, weather conditions, and route details will also be available.
• There is a friend-finder function, which lets you track down your buddies or just follow them along a path.
• This being a Europe-only product (for now), there's a Bluetooth component, too, which lets the jacket download data via phone.
LEDs are becoming pretty commonplace in clothes these days, but Willy Bogner has come up with an idea that is actually useful rather than decorative. He has come up with solar-powered ski suits with LED trim on them to keep you visible on the slopes. The thin film technology lights were designed by Osram, and Bogner unveiled them at an event in Munich last month. There's another pic after the jump.
With the snow season practically over, we are starting to miss those winter days of snowboarding and hot tubbin'. This summer when the snow is long gone we might actually have an outlet for our snow-sport deprived lives. The Wii Fit. There is a whole set of mini-games that take place on the mountain. With games that range from ski jumping to snowboarding, it makes us wonder if it will be enough to kill the mid-summer, snow-missin' blues.