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Expensive day tickets, overcrowded pistes and long waiting times in front of the chairlift? Ski tours can only shrug. While the alpine skiers pass from one foot to the other in front of the cable cars, the tourers put on their skis and set out on foot to the mountain. More and more snow enthusiasts are turning to ski tours, avoiding crowded pistes. Specialist stores are also feeling the effects. Sports shops such as Ochsner Sport, Transa or Bächli confirm the increased demand.
“We suspect the increase is related to the fact that the pistes were closed during the pandemic and many people avoided crowds,” says Urs Mosimann, ski coordinator at Transa, an outdoor equipment specialist. Mosimann himself often travels in the snow and sees more and more people away from the slopes, and this trend is also evident in the business world. “Our sales figures have increased from 300 to 600 skis in the last three years, so popularity has doubled,” Mosimann says. Big companies like Ochsner Sport have the same experience. “We can’t give exact sales figures, but the curve in the ski touring industry is rising,” the sports shop writes.
An opportunity for new inventions
Manufacturers and big companies are also watching the tour boom. They’re not the only ones taking advantage of this trend. Swiss company Gertsch Design specializes in the development of leisure and wellness equipment and sees an opportunity in ski tours. It brings to market a world first: a ski that makes it unnecessary to stick and remove skins.
Managing Director Ulo Gertsch came up with this idea. He worked as a mountain guide and ski instructor and found the procedure with skins tedious. “Professionals are used to sticking and removing skins, but beginners have trouble,” says Gertsch. That’s why he and his team set out to develop a ski suitable for ups and downs without the assembly and disassembly of additional components.
He worked on skiing for more than a year and devoted several Sundays and public holidays to this process. But the overtime was worth it because it now offers Tour Blades. This ski can switch between skin and riding surface with a rotating plate. A foldable ski then? Not really. The Lap Blades have a joint in the middle where the turntable is movably connected to the ski on the underside. One side of the plate is coated like the riding surface of traditional skis, and the other side has a mohair-nylon coating. The swivel plate can be rotated 180 degrees and attached to the front or back of the ski. In this way, skiing can be turned into climbing or skiing in just a few simple steps.
It is unclear whether the ski tour is a rising and falling trend like the snow line. One thing is for sure: In a winter mourning the loss of snow, this is good news.
Source : Blick
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
