by David Uyeda, Board Member
I volunteered to gather information on ski find-your-friends (FYF) apps so NSC could:
1) Educate club members on how to use ski FYF apps.
2) Facilitate the formation of FYF groups on NSC ski trips.
Making use of phone GPS information, FYF apps display the real-time location of designated friends as dots on a ski resort map. FYF apps are part of larger ski applications that also track individual skier statistics (e.g., vertical, lifts, miles, max speed, etc.)
In January 2022, I observed NSCers use the Steamboat FYF app but wasn’t able to do so myself because I was on a 3G Android phone. That killer app motivated me to upgrade to a 5G iPhone 13 mini. Later in March 2022, I used the Palisades FYF app with some club members. For the January 2023 Breckenridge trip, I didn’t discover the EpicMix app until day 4, and did not use EpicMix FYF until day 5 (after stumbling through the set up). My experience led me to believe that NSC could enhance its ski trips by facilitating the use of FYF apps. For example, NSC could:
– announce the best FYF app to use for a destination resort.
– provide tips on how to use the app.
– and broadcast (by email) the names of people trying to form or expand a FYF group.
It’s hard to find information on FYF apps. One has to rely on trial-and-error personal experience and word of mouth information. So please email me if you have any information on the FYF subjects below.
1. What is the best FYF app for the Vail resorts? EpicMix or some other app?
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/epicmix/id395375487
2. What is the best FYF app for Jackson Hole? The Jackson Hole app, or Slopes, or some other app?
https://www.jacksonhole.com/jh-insider-app
3. I couldn’t find any tutorials or videos on how to use the ski FYF apps. Have you run across anything worthwhile?
4. I noticed that FYF apps drain the phone battery. Any advice on how to avoid battery drain?
Thank you for your help.
David Uyeda
- Please send info and ideas to Armand at (president@niseiskiclub.org).