 Poster: A snowHead
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I am making an app to find skiers/snowboarders of similar level to you that are in the same place at the same dates to go ski with. Like ski buds (or exactly like it) for Europe.
Can you all reply with reasons why this is a stupid idea and why you wouldnt sign up?
Thanks!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Aside from how they 'rated' themselves, I'd wish to know years' skiing, number of resorts visited etc. You'd soon twig if someone said they were a Candide, having only done a week... in Geilo! I like the overall idea though. I ski mainly on my own (out of choice), but I often take a couple of runs with randoms if we have a good chat on the lift... or in the bar!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Apart from their ability (very subjective and males tend to overate and females under), I would want to know what time they start and end the day and how long they stop for and at what expense. Also re the side country thread - if off piste do they carry the kit and know how to use it?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Your app isn't the problem. How much you have to spend on marketing to encourage widespread adoption ( and overcoming any privacy/ stalker issues that might prevent adoption)is. You need an enormous user base to even generate a few hook ups so people are inclined to use/ recommend.
You could start by asking the SCGB how successful their peer to peer app has been. Not very I understand but then they really are tech ignoramuses and like to spunk money on things they keep exclusive so that almost no one uses them.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I would want to know how much whiskey and cheese they pack into a hut for an overnighter
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Most places in n America have decent Facebook groups already set up for this. I don't see an app competing to be honest.
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Join the SCGB join a group skiing in your resort, check them out on their SCGB resort page to see what's happening (the Saalbach one has great toilet reviews, if you plan to ski in France don't watch it!), yes their App is pants ! the Whatsapp resort group is better LOL
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Well, if it would work, then it would have been done. Like a dating app for a resort. I'm sure it's been tried - it's obvious - but clearly it's not taken over the world. I'd say you need to understand why that is - why a "ski buddies" app doesn't work as well as "dating apps" work, and when you understand that, you'll be in a position to know if it's something you want to take a punt on, or something which can't work. You could look at other sports, including stuff like climbing where having a partner is often more important than it is with on-piste skiing for example.
I reckon if people are good enough to ride places where you don't want to be riding alone, they'll have found people to do it with by then.
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@phil_w, I think it does happen through less formal channels than a Ski Tinder. I would guess that some people do arrange to ski with others through the interwebz in various ways like forums or facebook or reddit or whatevs. The SCGB could have made it work if they wanted to have a useful future given that what most people seemed to value in the SCGB was skiing in groups with others, but they seem to have made less than a half assed commitment to it.
Me : it's highly specific. I don't want to be lumbered at random with someone I would have to painfully coach down the mountain but probably more so I wouldn't want to be in a position where I felt I was holding up some hotshots. Plus when I'm skiing alone I find that naturally you sometimes end up skiing with people anyway either because you've been chatting on the lift or you're lapping the same terrain etc and that is usually a far better match.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@phil_w, I ride all the time off-piste (with gear) (and I am at a level to do backflips etc.) and I have this problem all the time  all of my friends don't have gear and don't want to come with me ahah (hence why I started the side country thread too)
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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The dating apps thought is an excellent point, it would have been done by now.. having a separate app for finding friends for each sport indeed doesn't sound very appealing. Obviously, I haven't built anything yet (hence the 'tell me why I shouldn't do this' ahaha) but I really want to solve this problem for me and looking whether other people experience it.
The thing with facebook groups is they are huge, and sometimes totally random people reply to a post.
I often think of Instagram, if you could see a video of someone skiing and you like his/her style you could just reply 'wanna ski together?' or something and then you could link up - but then again that is just Instagram but filtered to only show you skiers who are skiing in the same places.
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One thing I'd say is: if you do build it, please think about the experience of 'the most gorgeous Swedish girls in the hotel', & ideally get it tested from their perspective. Lots of apps like this make it very easy for certain people to receive a lot of unwanted attention.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
The thing with facebook groups is they are huge, and sometimes totally random people reply to a post.
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Ime they are pretty good. I've actually met a couple of people I toured with on Facebook so speaking from experience.
A bonus of Facebook is that's it's a little less anonymous. You get a full name, maybe some photos and basic info, plus on many of the threads in the groups I'm in people will validate each other i.e. someone posts they are looking for a partner and a few replies tend to be people saying something along the lines of "I toured with them before they are super nice". Gives me a bit more confidence.
I just struggle to see how an app gets enough people to begin with. I think people looking for skiing partners is actually quite niche. Most people doing a 1 week holiday are going with friends and/or family who they will ski with. Those that are doing seasons or more hardcore off-piste probably meet people quite naturally.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| @boarder2020 wrote: |
| A bonus of Facebook is that's it's a little less anonymous. You get a full name, maybe some photos and basic info, plus on many of the threads in the groups I'm in people will validate each other i.e. someone posts they are looking for a partner and a few replies tend to be people saying something along the lines of "I toured with them before they are super nice". Gives me a bit more confidence. |
I think this can be quite important. I don't want to go skiing (or climbing, or hiking...) with some randomer I don't know anything about. I'm female, so there are always safety concerns with unknown blokes, often ego-driven ones that would be an issue for everyone in the group. Sometimes Facebook groups can work, but all the oddballs seem to come out there, so I am always wary unless the demographic of the group generally excludes them.
I know that this forum isn't specifically set up for that job, though there are things that enable skiers to meet other skiers (bashes being the main one, but there is also the SkiBuddy thing though I don't know how well used it is), but it is helpful to get a bit more info about people before meeting them. Occasionally someone contacts me who happens to be in the area, usually just for transport info or something, but we do sometimes go out for a ski if the dates work out. Having a bit of a posting history helps me decide if I'll be very busy washing my hair that day.
Most of my friends here don't ski, so it's still not always easy to meet people who do even in a ski area. I met my regular buddy in a local WhatsApp group – he was always really helpful but also quite entertaining when other people asked for info, so when he was looking for buddies one weekend, I went along. Matching ability and expectations can be quite hard though – on a scale of British holiday skiers, I'm reasonably good, but compared to the cliff-dropping locals who ski tour three peaks before breakfast, I've got nothing! I've been to ski events in the hope of meeting other skiers to go out with, only for the line-up to look like the waiting room at A&E!
I'm fairly neutral on using an app for this purpose, but I'd want to see how it addresses some of the issues before I'd actually use it.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Awesome reponse! Yes ofcourse, I understand these are all excellent points. Thank you for this,
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Out of curiosity, are you building the app from another template app? (Like SquareSpace for websites)
I was thinking about making one a few years back for something totally un ski related (how boring!!!)
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FAQ
