Apple Watch Series 3 with watchOS 4.2 now tracks skiing and snowboarding

Apple has added the ability for skiers and snowboarders to use the Apple Watch Series 3 to track activities through new updates to apps just updated in the App Store.

Watch users can now record runs, see vertical descent and other stats, and contribute active calorie measurements directly to the Apple Watch Activity app. With the new additions, app can track total vertical descent and horizontal distance, number of runs, average and maximum speeds, total time spent, and calories burned.

"Having the ability to track the details of runs with Apple Watch is an incredible asset for everyone from training athletes to skiers and riders just looking to have fun and stay active," said Olympic Moguls Gold Medalist and Squaw Alpine Mountain Ambassador Jonny Moseley. "The Squaw Alpine app for Apple Watch helps me when I'm out with my family to not only track exactly where my kids are on the mountain, but also compare our performance, so I can make sure I'm keeping up with my sons and add some fun competition to our day."

Apps can auto pause and resume and users will get credit towards their Activity rings. Workout information will also be recorded to the Health app on iPhone with user permission.

The new additions require watchOS 4.2. Updates for Snoww , Slopes, Squaw Valley / Alpine Meadows, Snocru and Ski Tracks are available now.

6 Comments

hodar 14 Years · 366 comments

About 6 years ago

Is there a reason why the Series 2 cannot do this?

larrya 13 Years · 608 comments

hodar said:

Is there a reason why the Series 2 cannot do this?

I suspect it is making use of the altimeter in Series 3, which is present in Series 2 but not enabled (based on previous comments in other topics here).

bakerzdosen 16 Years · 185 comments

larrya said:

hodar said:

Is there a reason why the Series 2 cannot do this?

I suspect it is making use of the altimeter in Series 3, which is present in Series 2 but not enabled (based on previous comments in other topics here).

I hope you're not correct, but the more I think about it, I'm betting you are.

Notsofast 8 Years · 450 comments

bakerzdosen said:

larrya said:

hodar said:

Is there a reason why the Series 2 cannot do this?

I suspect it is making use of the altimeter in Series 3, which is present in Series 2 but not enabled (based on previous comments in other topics here).

I hope you're not correct, but the more I think about it, I'm betting you are.

It is correct. There are apps for tracking altitude gain for the Series 2, but they rely on your iPhone's GPS, so you will get the attendant limitations, especially the drain on battery life, versus the advantages of a watch based accelerometer.

bobolicious 10 Years · 1177 comments

Does anyone have a sense of accuracy for jump height accuracy with these ? Dedicated products like Woo, Trace and Xensr I am told are quite accurate: traceup.com, woosports.com, xensr.com thx