GPS tracking of young skiers and snowboarders starts on two Okanagan ski slopes – Kelowna News

Photo: Contributed

New technology to help parents keep track of their children while skiing and snowboarding is being rolled out to two Okanagan ski slopes this year.

SkiKrumb is a GPS-enabled device that tracks the locations of youth and child skiers. The device was developed by an Okanagan company.

Keith MacIntyre, founder and CEO of SkiKrumb, tells Castanet that the idea came to him about 10 years ago after his son got lost on the mountain during ski lessons.

“I was down at the chairlift to meet the teacher. I asked him how it was going and he said it was going great, but they lost two of the kids and one of them was mine,” MacIntyre said.

“It was terrifying. I rode the chairlift, scanning the trees, wondering if he had crashed or if he was injured, lost, scared, or worse. After running a software consulting company for 20 years, I knew there had to be a better way.”

MacIntyre says he has developed technology that can cover a larger portion of the mountain than cell phones using radio and GPS technology.

“It gives parents live locations, daily replays, tracking which runs they have completed, and more. This is primarily intended in the event that parents become separated from their children on the hill. This way they can find them much quicker.”

MacIntyre promoted the product at ski exchanges, where the technology was well received. While some have suggested using Apple Airtages to track their children, MacIntyre says they can’t accomplish this task like skiKrumb.

“People don’t know how Apple Airtags work. You must be within 30 feet of an iPhone to get a location. So imagine you’re on a ski hill and your child goes into the trees and can’t get out. Are they 200 feet below you? Are they 200 feet above you? I’m really worried about people relying on airtags for things like this… being 15 meters from a ski hill can be quite a distance sometimes,” MacIntyre said.

How exactly does this new device work? You find a ski resort that rents out the device, then download the skiKrumb app, register online for a day or season ticket, scan the QR code and off you go.

As of now, skiKrumb has signed contracts with two ski resorts in the Okanagan, including Big White Ski Resort and Apex Mountain Ski Resort.

At Apex, skiKrumb trackers can be rented in two options. A daily rental costs $20, a seasonal rental costs $250.

As for Big White, the resort will use skiKrumb as part of its children’s ski and snowboard lessons, with the option for families to continue using rental equipment after the lesson is complete.

“The safety of our students has always been a critical part of the experience at Big White Ski and Board School,” said Michael Richards, director of mountain sports at Big White.

“We have robust processes and procedures in place and are always looking for ways to improve the resort experience for families. We are excited to enhance our GPS tracking solutions for parents by offering skiKrumb devices starting this season.”