Who has never been afraid of getting stuck on a chairlift singing “when will I see you again, wonderful land…”? Thanks to the application Skiif, no more anxieties. Ski lift schedule, queues at the lift or even icy slopes… Like the Waze GPS which makes traveling on the roads easier, this new tool wants to “change” the way of skiing, in the words of Lalée Pinoncely, the creator.
“Three years ago, on a chairlift in Méribel, with my daughter, we were trying to give directions to a friend who was going to join us for lunch,” explains the entrepreneur. Even though I’ve been coming to this station for twenty-five years, we realized how perilous it was to find our way. It was after this anecdote that my daughter said: “It would be so much easier if there was something like Google Maps or Map so she could find us.” » Barely two years later, Lalée Pinoncely raised nearly a million euros for the concept.
How it works ?
Available for free on all download platforms since Friday, it aims to be “the Waze” of skiing. So, to use it, you don’t need an account. “We remove all the obstacles for users to make it simple and intuitive,” explains the founder. It is only necessary to create a profile, by providing an email address, from the moment you want to connect with other skiers and be part of the community. »
The app opens to an interactive map of the selected ski resort with a search bar that asks: “Where are you going?” “. No, Dora will not guide you to the top of the slopes. But a speaker guidance option is available if you’re afraid of missing an exit. “In one click, you can go from point A to point B, choosing the shortest or most sporty route,” explains Lalée Pinoncely. For parents, it is also a good option to estimate the time it will take to pick up their children from ski school, for example. » As with other mapping services, Skiif also allows you to locate hotels, toilets or all kinds of businesses.
A community of international skiers?
“The real added value is reporting,” continues Lalée Pinoncely. If you pass a huge queue in front of a lift or you are in this queue, but also if a slope has little snow or is closed, you can warn other users. The report is taken into account for half an hour. » The Skiif team has also developed an “SOS” button which allows you to call 112 in the event of an emergency but also to have the exact GPS coordinates to communicate to emergency services.
According to her, ski areas also see great “management and optimization” interest in it. “For their part, it allows them to broadcast the streams and not have too many people in the same place,” she explains. We know that 80% of skiers only cover 20% of the area. In this way, we improve all the useful aspects that go with the skiing experience. »
For this season, Skiff will only be available in the 3 valleys, in Savoie. “But between now and the end of the season, in March or April, we will develop internationally,” confides the designer. We have already identified 160 stations in the United States, Canada, Japan and throughout Europe. »