Nothing beats blazing downhill, hitting the gates as you whiz by like a bullet out of a barrel of a gun and with the icy cold wind nipping at your face. But if I had this SKIGYM Ski Home Simulator in the off-season, at least I’d be able to keep my legs in shape for the first winter snow ….
As far as we can tell from the spotty Google German to English translation, the SkiGym is dubbed as a “technically sophisticated training device – built in Germany and in cooperation with instructors, sports scientists and therapists …”
In other words, they put together a really pricey wii-style ski platform, tossed in a pretty good graphic computer game, and made it for the PC (although the pic above shows a workout broadcast on the user’s LCD HDTV). But the ultra realistic interface allows skiers to experience the tactile feedback of vibration while they rotate, tilt on virtual skiis to simulate a real ski descent. The Virtual Skier can cut from gate to gate simply by shifting his/her weight on the footpads and getting a shake of feedback to boot. Very cool.
The software game itself comes with 32 racetracks in 18 venues and can work in either training mode or serious racing mode. And the game has a “career” option which will chronicle a skiers progress as they go from beginner to expert. And it’s game mode allows skiers to emulate their favorite alpine stars.
But is it seriously worth the hefty $2300 price tag? Yikes. It’d almost be cheaper to spend a week at Park City. At least then you got a shot at ski babes on the bunny slopes.
Hat Tip – Like Cool