The chill in the air means that the winter sports season is just around the corner. What are the best iPhone apps to dig into all the action?
For winter sports on ice, you can download iLocate – Skating Rinks to find — you guessed it — ice skating locations in your area. Likewise, HockeyGPS has information on ice rinks as well as skate retailers.
iPhone apps for skiing
From SkiReport.com comes Ski & Snow Report, an app that adopts many of the Web site’s features. This free download includes information such as weather reports, recent snowfall and user comments for ski locations all around North America. If that’s not enough for you, the app also has live feeds from slopes so you can see them for yourself.
Another useful free app for skiers is iTrailMap. It allows you to download maps (meaning you can access them even when don’t have service) from more than 750 resorts, though the quality of the maps varies. There is also a paid version, iTrailMap 3D, which provides 3D maps and GPS tracking.
Ski Lodge combines the previous two apps, though at a price – $4.99. It has snow reports, maps and weather information for close to 400 resorts in North America, and it also has live camera feeds and GPS tracking.
If you’re looking for the ski experience but don’t want to leave the house, Touch Ski 3D brings the slopes to your iPhone. This game requires you to use your fingers as skis, a unique control set-up that is pretty fun. It has more than 40 courses and seven game modes as well.
Ski Jump doesn’t have the depth or graphics of Touch Ski, but still brings a worthwhile product to the table. As the name suggests, this app challenges you to see how far you can jump, competing against players from around the world. A lack of replay value means its price ($2.99) is a little steep, but there’s a free version you can check out.
iPhone apps for snowboarding
The Ride Snowboards app doesn’t hide its advertising elements – it allows you to view products from the snowboard company and find dealer locations – but it’s not just an elaborate ad. The app also has a news feed, videos from the company’s Web site, and information about — and photos of — its sponsored riders.
The outdoor apparel company Dakine isn’t limited to snowboarding, and though the company’s app isn’t either, it does have some worthwhile content when it comes to the sport. You get videos, as well as a snow report (for North America) from OnTheSnow.com, in addition to company news and music.
No offense to the skiing games, but traditionally, their snowboard counterparts have blown them out of the water – or off the mountain in this case. And iPhone apps are no different.
Crazy Snowboard is a snowboarding game that boasts simple controls that you will pick up within minutes of playing the app. The latest incarnation of the game, a Halloween edition released last month, includes 13 characters and 30 missions. It’s also got zombies. After all, what would a snowboarding Halloween game be without zombies?
If you’re not interested in re-living Halloween, or you’re just looking for a different snowboarding game, Slope Rider matches both of those criteria. The app has four characters and 13 courses, as well as a freestyle-trick mode and a race mode. Like Crazy Snowboard, it also has a free lite version you can try first.
