• 
• Friday, Nov 27, 2009 @ 12:23:19 PM
• Written by Zeke Piestrup
• 
• Comments(4)

• FONT SIZE
• 
• 
•  
• PRINT
• 

For most of us, GPS means a knowledgeable sounding Englishmen giving directions on the Garmin.  For the Canadian alpine ski team, GPS means a technological advantage heading towards the Winter Olympics.

It's called the STEALTH system.  It's supposed to be an acronym for Sensor for the Training of Elite Athletes, but that only gives you STEA, not as cool sounding as stealth, I guess. 

Racers wear a 2-pound unit around their waste.  As skiers fly down the mountain a stream of data is analyzed by computers to help determine where speed is lost and gained.

The system is supposed to help in two ways.  The first is in choosing the fastest line.  I'm a bit skeptical about that one.  There may be faster lines down the mountain, but can you ski them?

The other use sounds much more plausible.  The units are used in ski testing both equipment and wax.  Traditionally, technicians and racers have had limited info in ski testing.  Basically, just video and time.

Max Gartner, Alpine Canada's chief athletics officer told the Canadian Press, ""In the old days, we did ski testing and the only information we got was the final time.  During the test track of 16 seconds, you would find out one ski was 16.01 and the other ski was 16.24 That was the only information you got. With the GPS, we have much more detailed information."

Canada has spent $117 million on Own the Podium, a five-year plan to help Canadian athletes win more medals on their home turf.  The STEALTH program was categorized Top Secret until this past week when it was unveiled.

Five All-Mountain skis at REI.com for the skiing nomad

For the skier who likes to ski all over the mountain and only plans on buying one pair of skis this season, the five models...

Ski Minus 6 Months: Vancouver Winter Olympics Preview

Once every four years, the media descends into our sacred space and shines a piercing spotlight on our beloved sport...

The Ski Channel is Everything Mountain

Check out this sick promo video for the Ski Channel!

E-mail to Friend

• Ted Ligety looks to earn second World Cup giant slalom title
  On Friday, Park City, UT native Ted Ligety will look to become a champion again....
• NCAA Ski Championships: Denver leading after "Day 1"
  Aksel Svindal Lund, the Norwegian who matched Bode Miller's "trifecta" is probably...
• Deadline extended for nominations to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame
  March 30th was the original deadline for nominations to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard...
• Winter Olympics bronze medalist Andrew Weibrecht will have shoulder surgery tomorrow
  The downhill crash in Kvitfjell, Norway that ended Andrew Weibrecht's break-out...
• Nordic Combined Olympic gold and silver medalists to visit overseas troops
  As most of the ski world now knows, U.S. Team Nordic athletes made Olympic history...
• Party with Jeret "Speedy" Peterson and celebrate his Olympic silver medal triumph
  This coming Saturday, March 13th starting at 9:30 AM, head down to City Hall...
• CLIF BAR announces first green travel website for skiers
  BERKELEY, Calif., -To help fight global warming and preserve winter playgrounds,...
• Bode Miller is done for the season
  Bode Miller is cutting his World Cup season short. Unlike 2009, Miller does so under vastly different circumstances. By any account,...