After 40 years on the slopes I reckon I’m a competent skier – confident on a black run with a bit of off-piste thrown in.
But Carv, my digital ski coach talking to me through my headphones in the Austrian Alps, thinks otherwise.
"Your ski IQ for that run was 115 – oh dear," said the alpine Alexa. What? Harsh.
Carv has already analysed the data – and she decides I have lots of bad skiing habits that need fixing.
Incredibly, this gadget instantly homed in on the same niggles that real-life ski instructors have identified over the years. Outdated 80s ski technique with legs too close together and weight too far back.
-
You can get paid £600 a week to review ski lessons at luxury resorts in Europe
-
Inside Saalbach ski resort from best pistes to top après-ski hotspots
Sitting on a chairlift in the stunning Stubai Glacier I’m looking at Carv’s analysis of my ski profile on my iPhone. It tells me I’d skied 1.6km on Eisjochferner and gives me my average speed on the last run. It also shows how symmetrical my skis were during the descent. Not very, as it happens.
"On this next run, focus on keeping pressure on your outside ski through each turn," she suggests. Carv is the brainchild of British scientist Dr Jamie Grant and co-founder Pruthvikar Reddy who in 2013 invented the world’s first digital ski instructor.
Fitted to your ski boots, Carv can teach fundamental techniques to any would-be Franz Klammer.
It’s designed for on-piste skiing and the most appealing aspect is that it gives you real-time feedback as you glide down the mountainside, such as how to stop your knees turning inward and A-framing.
Oxford university-educated Jamie came up with the idea, raised £80,000 within four months and after intense research with robotics experts in China, launched the first version in 2017.
It was developed with the world’s top skiers using data from British number one Dave Ryding and two-time Olympian Jeremy Bloom.
At £279, it’s cheaper than ski lessons, which can cost from £200 for just three hours in the Alps.
Carv works by using ultra-thin inserts that fit between the shell of your ski boots that gather data from 48 pressure sensitive pads and nine motion sensors. Information is fed to two matchbox-sized tracker units on the back of your boots before being relayed to your phone.
And they are working on a version that takes voice commands, so it will become the Alexa of skiing.
The app assesses my performance through four main categories of balance, edging, rotation and pressure and offers hints and tips on how to reach a better Ski IQ.
World-class skiers usually get around the 150 mark. By the end of the day, my IQ rose to a more respectable 120.
“It won’t be a total replacement for lessons but tries to enhance what you’ve been taught by instructors. It’s aimed at intermediate skiers, who can already navigate their way around blue runs,” Jamie said.
Carv can also record everything you do and provide a summary.
After each run, it knows when you have finished your descent thanks to the on-board sensors and starts to give you feedback.
“Go get ’em, tiger,” enthuses Carv in her American accent at the start of my next run. “Let’s carve it up! Keep your skis shoulder width apart. Edge your skis together.”
The hints are frequent but brief so they don’t swamp you with too much information as you head towards that tree.
Comments like “nice turns” and beautiful skiing” boost my enthusiasm. Whenever I complete a turn successfully, Carv makes a morale-boosting ping noise familiar to gamers – or a dong if I put in a dud turn.
The feedback is addictive and makes me really concentrate.
As my carving improves, I progress through levels. There are also a series on inbuilt coaching tools aimed at improving skills such as using your edges more effectively and finishing turns properly.
The app told me edging was my biggest weakness – I’m not tipping my skis sufficiently in the turn to get more control on the steep stuff.
So for the next run I choose a coaching exercise aimed at improving my edging technique.
Carv says: “Nice run. Your Ski IQ was 118. You improved your edge similarity by 31 per cent to 47 per cent. Great job.”
By the end of the day, my scores seem to going up rather than down and I am getting more positive ping noises in my ears for my turns than loser thuds.
And with that cool LA accent, I might be in love.
Book the holiday
Stay there:
- To order Carv, visit getcarv.com. A week at Hotel zum Holzknecht starts from £419pp. See stubai.at .
- A seven-night stay in Stubai Valley at Hotel zum Holzknecht starts at £419pp. The is 2 km away from Neustift in the Stubai Valley.
Get there: Flights from London City to Innusbruck start from £155 with KLM.
Source: Read Full Article