HAT -- check; gloves -- check; skis, boots, poles -- check. Mobile phone -- check. Just as it is with the rest of modern life, having a cellphone along for the ride is becoming more and more of a wanted, if not needed, tool for those who love hitting the slopes. There are several mobile phone apps designed to enhance the skiing and snowboarding experience and ski areas are increasingly turning to social-networking sites to report fresh powder, deals and special events. "We are very active on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube," said Brundage Mountain spokeswoman April Russell. Skiers have always followed the weather and eyed each approaching storm as a potential powder bonanza.

Not so long ago they relied on ski resorts to update snow depths on recorded phone messages. The Internet made it a little easier for skiers and boarders to keep track of snowfall by logging onto ski area websites. Now they can track it though Facebook, Twitter or via third-party apps on mobile devices. New media also is keeping ski areas honest.

Skiers have always viewed with some suspicion the self-reported snow depths by ski areas. Brundage now has a webcam permanently fixed on its snow-measuring stick and sites like Facebook allow skiers to post comments on snow reports. "You can get on the snow phone and we can tell you how many inches we have had but photos and videos do not lie," Russell said. "We find they are extremely important to our visitors." There are several snow report apps such as "Ski Report" that not only collect ski area snowfall data but also allow users to post comments.

The app has links to ski area webcams and a "My Areas" icon that can be personalized to display the ski areas of most concern to individual users. The "Powder" icon displays the ski areas across North America with the greatest recent snow depth. On Wednesday, Alyeska Resort in Alaska reported 8 fresh inches and Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia was close behind with 7 inches. Sean Briggs of Schweitzer Mountain said the addition of a mobile website specifically designed to be displayed on cellphones has been a hit and is making the resort's snow report phone message obsolete. "People wake up and go to our mobile website and get a snow report," he said.

"We have seen less people calling the snow phone." Paper trail maps that are difficult to fold and can fall apart in soggy conditions also could be a thing of the past. The "Ski Trailmaps" app lets users download maps for resorts in North America, Europe, South America and Australia and New Zealand. Once downloaded, the maps are accessible on a phone regardless of what can be spotty cell coverage in the mountains. The app lists snow and weather reports, has links to ski area webcams and websites and lists resort information such as vertical drop, number of runs and skiable acres.

Ski Trailmaps also links users to satellite maps displaying the resort and its location. Other apps such as RipXX, which costs $3.99, track speed and vertical drop, and traces routes that can be accessed later. It also has resort information, maps and snow reports. None of the apps are of much use if there is no cell coverage. But ski resorts are typically at high elevations that make connecting to a cell signal easier, Many even have cell towers on their summits.

Source: THE LEWISTON TRIBUNE