Snow Report Apps Showdown

The App Store has many great types of apps, and many horrible ones. One that may seem useless to most of us is a snow/ski conditions reporter. Although I only go once a year, these apps are still pretty interesting to look at. Don’t tell me you don’t want to know the conditions at your favorite resort all year round. Well, today I will be talking about two of these apps.

Snow Reports ($1.99)

The app that I would compare Snow Reports to the most is Weather.app (included on all iPhones and iPod Touches). This is because it works the same way. You have a list of resorts that you can edit from the “i” button, and to go from one to another you just slide your finger. That being said, I’ll bet you have already figured out that it’s easy to use. In the settings window (click the “i” button), you can also change the order of the resorts, change from inches to centimeters, and add new resorts based on location.

For each entry you get some very nice information, like the number of trails and lifts open, show, and depths. The top section tells you whether the mountain is open and the total number of open trails and lifts. It also gives you links to call (if you have an iPhone) and visit the resort’s website. The New Snow section tells you how much it has snowed in the last 24, 48 and 72 hrs (1, 2, and 3 days). The Base Depth section tells you the lower and upper thickness of the snow. On the bottom there are 3 buttons: Report, Weather, and Images. Report will open a WebKit view with the OnTheSnow conditions page for the resort. The Weather button opens another WebKit view with the weather report for the resort. The Images button also opens a WebKit view with images of the resort. It would look much better if there was another view for these that fit the nice style of Snow Reports instead of just a WebKit View.

Snow Reports gives you about all the information you would want as someone just looking but not skiing. If you do ski a lot, then this app may not have all the features you will want, like maps, trails, etc. For $1.99, it can be a fun app for skiers and non-skiers.

Grade: B-

Ski Lodge ($4.99*)

Ski Lodge is made for the skier and not just the average bystander. It includes features like maps, built-in live cameras, photos, and even news. Like Snow Reports, it is very easy to use, but it doesn’t use the same style. It has a better way to view your favorites; there’s a list view, making it easier to access resorts in long lists. Favorites are resorts that will appear in your favorites, but they are not the only ones that you can get information about. To access any resort, just go to All Resorts and go through the lists to select a resort. If you want to add it to your favorites, just click the Add to Favorites button. You can also go to Nearby to find resorts near you.

For each resort, Ski Lodge gives you a lot of information, divided into two main sections: the top and the bottom. The top part gives you access to weather, temperature, and snow. The weather report is just a picture of something like a sun, a sun and a cloud, etc. The temperature tells you the current temperature, and the snow report tells you how much snow has fallen in the last 24, 48, and 72 hours. You can change from metric to English in Settings.app. The bottom section gives you links to other views. The Trail Map button shows you the percentage of green, blue, black, and double black trails based on the length of each section. When you click on it, you can actually view the trail map with full multi touch! The Live Cams & Photos button will bring you to a view where you can choose to see the resort from live cameras and photos. To go to the next or previous camera or photo, just slide your finger across the screen. The Website button brings you to the resort’s website. The Show in Maps button opens the location of the resort in the Google Maps app. The button with the phone number allows you to call the resort. Although, even if you have an iPod Touch, it allows you to click this button.

Ski Lodge is definitely aimed at someone who skis a fair amount. It gives you many more features than Snow Reports, but it also costs more. If you do not ski, or don’t ski not very much, but still want a ski report app, you will probably want to go with Snow Reports. But just the maps and news alone can make Ski Lodge worth it for even someone who skis just a couple times a year. You’re also doing the environment a favor by not taking a map.

Grade: B+

*Ski Lodge was $4.99 at the time of review“it is now on sale for $1.99 for a limited time.

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