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Ever since I started snowboarding at the age of 20, I have been in love with it. Like many other hobbies, the beginning can be kind of hard, but as soon as you got the technique, you are addicted. I regularly go snowboarding and try not to miss any chance to ride, but this year's season was sadly short, due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19).
So, I thought to myself, why not write about my favorite hobby to shorten the wait for the next season for you and for me. I believe everyone who is into snowboarding like I am, feels the same: When you are standing on your board, it is a very special moment. Your mind is clear and fully synchronized with your body. Even though it gets exhausting after a long day in the cold sometimes, it is like a switch to another reality where nature, board and you are interconnected.
All the better, in the past year's several technologies have entered the snowboarding scene which makes the hobby even more interesting for a techie like me.
Keep connected on your snowboard
Ingo Joseph - Pexels.com
The very first rule if you go biking, hiking, snowboarding or climbing off the beaten track: You should never go alone. And technology can help you to stay connected to your outdoor partner. Sure, if you lose sight of your partner you could use your smartphone to call or write them, but a phone is sometimes hard to reach when you are stuck in a skiing suit. That's why I'm using a smartwatch. In addition to tracking your distance and speed or checking the weather conditions, it can be used to send text or voice messages to your friends, too. On Apple Watches, for instance, you have a Walkie-Talkie-App to instantly send voice messages. It is very convenient but might not work when you are on a mountain or in the deepest wilderness, because it depends on the connection of your smartphone. In this case, you could use real Walkie-Talkies, which is a bit old-school, but always work.
High Tech clothes ā snowboarding with comfort
Of course, fashion is a big topic in snowboarding. For me, it is a part of your snowboard riding style. Though, clothes for winter sports have to do more than the usual activewear. Besides looking smart, they also have to keep riders warm and protected. Some manufacturers go even a step further and combine fashion with technology.
The designers of the brand Kjus, for example, produce a jacket with so-called HYDRO_BOT technology, which is an electrified membrane that creates an electroosmotic flow to actively pump sweat to the outside of the jacket. The moisture management can be controlled with the touch of a button or the corresponding app. No more hassle with lots of layers to cool down or warm-up while riding.
Another interesting product is the BT 2.0 Glove: A glove that connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth. When someone calls you, a little display on the glove shows you who is calling, and you can pick up and speak to them with a built-in speaker and microphone. I believe, this could look a bit strange to people around you when you are talking to your glove, but on the other hand, it's the closest you will get to feeling like 007.
Stay safe on track
The necessity of wearing a helmet while skiing or snowboarding is a no-brainer. Luckily, nothing really-really bad happened to me, but I often heard horror stories of people who crashed or got buried by an avalanche. Especially when freeriding you expose yourself to danger even when you are a pro.
Alaskan Playground with John Jackson
But if you want to go offsite of crowded slopes, you should always be prepared for worst-case scenarios. An avalanche airbag can be a sensible addition to your gear. Some manufacturers provide integration of an airbag in a backpack, which is practical and could save your life. According to a study, 440 people were killed by avalanches in the U.S. in the past 45 years. If you get hit by massive amounts of snow you can pull the strap, the airbag inflates and you stay on top and have a higher chance to survive.
Another great technology, which could save your life are avalanche transceivers. This tiny device, which you should keep close to your body, sends strong radio signals if activated. A sensible complement is the RECCO reflector. The passive transponder, which does not require a power source or activation, is integrated into many products such as jackets, helmets or shoes and reflects the signals of an active sender. Both technologies help rescue teams to scan the snow masses in a short amount of time. But be aware that RECCO reflectors are not a substitute to avalanche transceivers! If you want to make sure that your gear has a build-in transponder, pay attention to this label below.
In terms of rescue, the Czech Mountain Rescue Service goes a step further and combine signal detection with drones. Thereby they reduce their search times by up to 50 percent because a drone can scan a large avalanche site more quickly than a person on foot.
Mountain Rescue - Drone saves lives after avalanche
It's astonishing to see how technology is used in many creative ways, whether it is for communication, comfort or safety. And there is even more potential. Maybe there will be AI-based full-body airbags that analyze the current situation and inflate right before an accident? Or ski lifts will become obsolete due to drones? I am excited for the next season. And you?
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Latest Stories
6 signs you'll make it as a tech entrepreneur
Do you have what it takes to lead a tech start-up?
Feeling like you're back to the same-old, job? It's frustrating when your ideas at work go unrecognized, for reasons outside of your control. What if you were making all the decisions? Do you have what it takes to lead your own tech start-up?
Here are six qualities that make a successful tech entrepreneur, coming from those who've broken the mold of what it means to be one.
ā1. You embrace diversity and don't let your gender hold you back
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUxMzkwOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODk1ODE5N30.jg7Bkw8n0XuzrplK4QKbrLdWA6vmZqrw0pMACBIsbYc/img.jpg?width=980" id="15281" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a49b04421925ef22c9fa90b54541eebb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="3875" data-height="2580" />Christina Morillo - Pexels.com
<p>The tech industry benefits from diversity. But there are still perceived barriers for women, like lack of role models, stereotypes and inflexible working hours. The good news? Change is underway. A new <a href="https://kas.pr/wit2021" target="_blank">Kaspersky study</a> shows over half of women working in tech feel women are represented in leadership roles, and 7 in 10 feel confident and respected at work. </p><p>There's some way to go to having gender-balanced tech teams: only 1 in 10 work in female-majority teams, while 1 in 2 work in male-majority teams. Let's be the change we want to see ā don't place limits on what you want to achieve in your career. </p>2.Ā Uncertainty doesn't faze you
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e279b9b5cf175f28af1deb8f11f2d528"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OSE6Ja_vup8?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Starting a tech business is riddled with uncertainty. You need to be able to make a plan when the goalposts, and the ground beneath your feet, are moving. And you'll need to be able to adapt to change fast. You'll never have all the answers, but you'll still be able to see ways to move forward. Did you know that Tesla and SpaceX, both flagship companies of Elon Musk, came close to failing? The first electric car created by <a href="https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/news/a29378/elon-musk-admits-to-shareholders-that-the-tesla-roadster-was-a-disaster/" target="_blank">Tesla, the Roadster, had big production problems</a> and <a href="https://timeline.com/spacex-musk-rocket-failures-c22975218fbe" target="_blank">SpaceX had many launch failures</a> before its final effort was a success.</p>3.Ā You're willing to develop, improve and even throw out your ideas
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="44880f393043d8c33c5dd6a095874418"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6s2nzg2wxUw?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Tech entrepreneurs don't decide their 'baby' is the right solution and doggedly cling to it. Stories like that of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Holmes" target="_blank">Elizabeth Holmes ā inventor of the blood-test biochip that never existed</a> ā show just how destructive hanging onto a dud idea can be.</p><p>Great tech entrepreneurs want to solve the problem more than they want to be right about how it's best solved. They're more interested in being useful than in being popular.</p>4.Ā You can be persuasive, but you're more substance than style
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3406bbc59ae87c317b61874c3d06ec90"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ofz3iwX_x-o?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>When you run a start-up, you need to win people over to your idea, time and again. From securing funding to motivating your team, you need to be tireless in inspiring people to give you their best. And you're not just selling your product, you're selling yourself.</p><p>Contrary to popular belief, leaders don't need star quality ā <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/lindred-greer-great-leaders-understand-fundamentals" target="_blank">experience and skills predict success better than charisma</a>. But you do need to make people believe in what you can do. </p><p>The famous author and pilot Antoine de Saint-ExupĆ©ry once said: "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."</p>5.Ā You're happy to do whatever needs doing
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="34991cff9a653726279b601b5342c050"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dN2JIp6u4r0?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Early in the life of your start-up, you'll need to turn your hand to all kinds of tasks that won't feel like what you were born to do. If you're the kind of person who tends to think, 'that's not my job,' or you've developed advanced skills in avoiding tasks you don't like, tech entrepreneurship may not be for you.</p><p>Did you know that the search engine and company we know as Google today, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/04/8-surprising-facts-you-might-not-know-about-googles-early-days.html" target="_blank">has started as a PHD project</a>? At the beginning, the world wide web wasn't that big. As a matter of fact Larry Page, one of the founders of google collected the links on the web by hand. He didn't know exactly what to do with it but it seemed to be a good idea, because no one had ever collected the links before. This seems inconceivable today!</p>6.Ā You can cope with imperfection, and you're willing to put your ideas to the test
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQxODY2NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODEzNDg4N30.a6hft0WkTI5jrPrYxRpJcoojp8HMd2n2nCq_oxKSZIU/img.jpg?width=980" id="8a97d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ac67d2d45957c27d9971c6709b1505c5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1280" data-height="959" />Free Creative Stuff - Pexels.com
<p>Gone are the days when entrepreneurs jealously guarded their ideas up until the moment of a giant, glitzy launch. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good" target="_blank">Perfect is the enemy of good</a>. And in tech, it's usually much easier to get a prototype or beta version out to gauge the response than it is with other kinds of products.</p><p>As anyone who's done <a href="https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/user-research-what-it-is-and-why-you-should-do-it" target="_blank">user research</a> will tell you, the biggest shortcomings of products often aren't what the team thinks they are. Testing with real people isn't a luxury; it saves time and money.</p><p>Leading your own start-up almost always means working long hours and testing your skills to their limit. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilpatel/2015/01/16/90-of-startups-will-fail-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-10/#7f685a416679" target="_blank">Few succeed</a>, but if you have these six qualities, you have a great chance of being among those who do.</p>