Device turns skier’s path into souvenir poster-GPS technology is key to start-up

When Jay Casper was laid off from Qwest in December 2001, he made the decision that his next job would not be in a glass tower.

By Matt Renoux and Jessica Ro Denver Post

Snowboarder John Svoboda of Denver wears SlopeTracker, shown on his arm, which traced the runs he made at Keystone resort.
One year later, Casper is making a solid living at the base of Keystone Mountain selling a service that skiers are snapping up.

"My wife said, ‘Do something you love,’ and I love skiing, and so I built this thing for other people who love it, too," Casper said.

This "thing" is SlopeTracker – a device that uses the global positioning system to track the lifts skiers ride and the slopes they ski or snowboard. The GPS device weighs 5 ounces and is attached to a wristband. Skiers and snowboarders wear it all day, then return to the SlopeTracker kiosk, where Casper and crew print out a full-color poster showing the terrain they have covered throughout the day.

Lifts are yellow and lettered, and runs are red and numbered.

"I’ve been doing marketing for large companies for the last decade, and I’ve never been associated with a product whose customers embrace it so enthusiastically," Casper said. "We knew that experts would love this, but the most exciting thing for us is to see the way kids and old people have embraced it."

"I did the SlopeTracker, and I think it is the best thing to come to Keystone, ever," said Renne Marshel, a skier from Chicago. "I think it makes for a great souvenir to take back home. It showed me how fast or slow I go, and how little time I actually spend on the slopes."

Casper tells the story of a 77- year-old man from North Carolina who recently used the device.

"He came back, and he had done 15 runs, including half that were black. He wanted to know if I could reprint 20 copies of his SlopeTracker," Casper said. "I asked why, and he said that in July, he had quadruple-bypass, and he wanted to send copies to every doctor that helped him and every patient he met in the hospitals to show them what is possible after something horrible happens."

SlopeTracker at Keystone has 60 GPS devices available to rent each day. They cost $24.95 each, a price that Casper said "is comparable to souvenir photos or T-shirts."

"It looks cool," said snowboarder John Svoboda of Denver. "I think I go fast, but this will keep me in check."

Casper is currently working on developing SlopeTracker kiosks at several more mountains, but for now, Keystone is it.

"In the future, you will be able to go to our website and look at your own or other people’s SlopeTrackers," said Casper. "For example, you could call your brother in California and have him look at your ski day today in Colorado."

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