I have been writing about outdoor winter sports for over 20 years; consequently, I get pertinent emails from various quarters that pique my interest.

Recently, I got a post from Alpine Replay, in California, which was offering a free app for iPhones and Android smartphones. It records all your data from each day you ski or snowboard for the entire season. I’m not necessarily a “gearhead” but I am competitive. I do like this gadget that provides me with information about my performance in this sport that I am passionate about.

A couple of years ago I rounded up three of my boys, headed to Smugglers Notch in northern Vermont for a day of hardcore skiing. We were offered a relatively new device to wear on our lower leg called a Flaik.

The Flaik provided similar information as Alpine Replay. Though it was fun, the device had to be rented, was uncomfortably bulky, plus you could not see the results until you were sitting down in front of a computer.

With Alpine Replay the app is free, you can see your stats in real time, it will store multiple ski days and you can imbed video and post it in an e-mail or on Facebook. The app records the number of runs you skied, how long you are on the slope, on the lift and in the lodge.

But, for bragging rights, it lists total amount of vertical feet, total distance, maximum speed, sustained speed and average speed. It will list how many jumps you take and your air time while jumping. It also shows how many calories you burned for the day. These are just the features on your phone. When it is pulled up on your computer it will show the current snow report and temperature at the resorts you’ve tracked with Alpine Replay. It will also show a map of the resort from Goggle Earth with all of the trails and slopes that you have skied highlighted.

Here is what else the creators of this app have made possible. Each time you use Alpine Replay it ranks you against all of the other skiers and riders in the world tracking their performance. When I finally started using the app, I ranked 52,839th in terms of vertical feet skied. Clearly it is catching on quickly.

There are other apps available which I have not tried but seem to have similar features: Ski Tracks, Satski and Sports Traker are a few others I found.

So next time one of your kids or a buddy says, “I just skied 45 miles an hour,” make them prove it with Alpine Replay.
Have fun out there.

Thomas Porter, a life-long skier and outdoor enthusiast, has been writing about his experiences for more than 25 years. Porter competed for his high school and college ski teams, racing at many of the ski areas throughout New England. He continued his engagement with downhill racing by coaching at Windham College in Vermont and the Brattleboro Vermont high school team. Porter has written articles for Explore New England magazine and was the winter sport columnist for The Brattleboro Reformer for more than 25 years before moving to Maine. Porter has contributed to The Maine Outdoor Journal and The Times Record. He is a 26-year member of the Eastern Ski Writers Association and The National Ski Journalist Association. Porter can be reached at tport1950@hotmail.com.