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---------- New GPS Technology Offered at French Ski Resorts News - Resorts The French Alps - Those boasting of how high or how far they've skied will now be able to back up their claims while visiting nine snowboard and ski resorts throughout the French Alps, thanks to a new program available from Sumit Tracker. Did you ski under the Saulire tram at the French ski resort of Courchevel? Now you can prove it thanks to new technology available from Sumit Tracker. (photo: FTO/Marc Guido) Tested in a couple of resorts last year, the tracker uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to enable the wearer to track almost every element of their day on the mountains including runs, height, speed and even how long they spent on lifts, in queues and having lunch. Now available at the French ski resorts of Val d▓Isère, Tignes, Morzine, Les Gets, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Courchevel, La Tania and Méribel, it is the same size as the average mobile phone. Strapped onto your arm, it leaves the user free to ski and forget about it until the end of the afternoon when it is returned to Sumit, where the information is downloaded to provide a full color double-sided report. "We have all been skiing in a group where there is always someone who brags about how many black runs they skied or how fast. There was never any way of knowing if they were boasting or not," said Sumit director and founder James Doughty, whose knowledge of IT data systems, maps and geography helped him to come up with the idea of using the very latest technology on the ski slopes. Utilizing more than 30 satellites whizzing about the skies, the tracker takes readings every five to 10 seconds and stores the data. At the end of the day the information is downloaded and Sumit▓s specialized software converts it into the report. The Sumit report has a map of the area skied on one side and a graph on the other showing altitude in blue and your speed in purple. Details includes distance skied, distance travelled on lifts, maximum speed and average speed in km/h as well as the number of hours and minutes spent skiing, on lifts and resting - yes, that lunch really did take two hours. "Those who have used the Sumit Tracker have often been amazed by how much time is spent on lifts compared with actual skiing time. We show this as a percentage as well. You might feel like you have skied all day but then find out that less than 25% of your time was actually spent physically skiing," added James. "It is a fantastic souvenir. It was great to find out where I had been and I was really chuffed with my top speed of 118 km/h on the end of the Men▓s World Cup run at La Daille," said Ben Simpson, one of the first skiers to use it in Val d▓Isère last season. "It made skiing much more exciting. When I got my report I felt really excited and re-lived the whole experience. It also made me want to try it again." According to James it has many uses. "The obvious is one is to compare where you have been with fellow skiers. But it has also been used by a beginner who used it to track her progress during the week. I can see it being used by families, groups and individuals who want to chart their progress regardless of their standard of skiing and even those who want to ensure they are skiing safely and responsibly as it does not encourage speed," he said. Sumit is encouraging the Tracker's use for corporate events including staff challenges. It has been particularly popular with seasonal staff. Because it receives data and does not transmit, Sumit Tracker does not interfere with mobile phones or avalanche transceivers. The Sumit Tracker costs £16.50 per day if booked via the website www.sumitski.com and ┬25 if booked at the resort. Prices for groups and events are available on request and depend on numbers. ------- New Book Details Heli and Snowcat Skiing and Snowboarding Around the Globe News - Resorts Kalamazoo, MI - Bill Wanrooy and Chris Anthony provide a comprehensive guide to the world of heli-skiing and cat-skiing with the publication of Dream Season: Worldwide Guide to Heli & Cat Skiing/Boarding. Firsthand experiences, travel tips, and operator directories are included to help aid in the planning of heli-skiing trips. Dream Season allows readers to share in the adventure of heli-skiing trips to Alaska, British Columbia, Colorado, New Zealand, and Russia through a series of chapters highlighting individual trips. Heli-skiing trips highlighted include Alpine Heli-Ski, Kamchatka, Mica Heli Guides, and Monarch Cat Skiing. The content of Dream Season is broken into sections based on the regions of the world. Each section contains an introduction and overview to a particular region of the world, followed by an extensive operator directory. Each operator directory contains vital information, including contact information, year established, terrain description, range of trip durations, price range, and what makes each operation unique. Regions of the world covered include Alaska, Canada, Eastern Europe, Europe, Greenland, Himalayas, New Zealand, South America, and the Western United States. For additional information on Dream Season: Worldwide Guide to Heli & Cat Skiing/Boarding, visit www.karmapublishing.com/dreamseason.html. http://www.firsttracksonline.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=344