E-SKIS – OF COURSE

Even high up in the Swiss Alps, winter is drawing to a close – finally, most will agree.

The Olympians and Paralympians towards the south of the border have returned home – with or without medals – and what's on most people's mind now is where to catch some guaranteed summer sun this year.

Yes, Switzerland likes to think of itself a a winter sports nation, but essentially, winter sports happen only in winter. Makes sense.

Yet, somewhere in the Alps, a Swiss man has just invented e-skis: Electric skis that not only take you down the slopes, but also up the mountain, with little to no effort.

Now, anyone looking at the calendar will immediately say: Hang on – 1 April is coming up!

But what may sound like an April Fool's joke is in fact reality.

They are called E-Skimo and have been in development for the past four years, by a start-up in the Swiss Alps. The idea, according to the inventor, came during Covid when ski lifts were closed and people suddenly had to climb mountains the old-fashioned way.

Which, as it turned out, many people found rather exhausting.

The target clientele, however, is ski tourers, rather than downhill aces trying to save money on ski lifts.

Traditional ski touring involves attaching climbing skins to your skis and walking uphill through deep snow for several hours before enjoying the descent. It’s beautiful, peaceful, and physically demanding in a way that reminds you that you should probably have exercised more in the previous decade.

Enter the electric ski.

The system attaches a small motorised mechanism to each ski. When activated with buttons on your poles, the skins begin rotating and gently pull you uphill. Artificial intelligence coordinates the movement, helping you glide upwards while expending up to 30% less effort.

The skis can apparently make you up to 80% faster on the ascent.

In other words, the mountain still goes up – but slightly less aggressively.

Once you reach the summit, you detach the equipment, stash it in your backpack, and ski down like normal. The battery lasts about three hours, which conveniently matches the duration of many people’s enthusiasm for uphill exercise.

The price? Around 4,500 Swiss francs.

For comparison, normal touring skis cost about 500.

Innovation, as we know, rarely comes cheap.

Interestingly, the first buyers weren’t beginners looking for an easier way into the sport. The typical customer turned out to be a male ski tourer in his sixties who has been climbing mountains for decades and now appreciates a little mechanical encouragement on the way up.

Which is understandable.

Gravity becomes increasingly persuasive with age.

The concept has already sparked lively debate among mountain purists. Some worry that motorised assistance could encourage people to venture into alpine terrain without sufficient preparation. Others fear disturbances to wildlife or an influx of battery-powered adventurers roaming previously quiet slopes.

Traditionalists, meanwhile, simply look slightly uncomfortable at the idea of a ski that hums.

Because skiing, at least in the romantic imagination, is supposed to involve effort. Crisp air. Burning legs. The quiet satisfaction of reaching a summit under your own power.

Add a motor and suddenly the experience starts sounding suspiciously like an e-bike on snow.

Still, Switzerland has never been shy about combining mountains and technology. Our ski lifts climb vertical cliffs with cheerful efficiency, our tunnels run through entire mountain ranges, and our trains casually glide up gradients that make goats look on in awe.

So perhaps electric skis were inevitable.

Whether they become the future of ski touring or remain an eccentric Alpine gadget remains to be seen.

But I do like the image.

Apparently, even the Italian and French armies have expressed their interest and signed up for tests.

Ingenious or complete nonsense? Only time – and their customers – will tell. Meanwhile, I'm glad winter is firmly behind us for another year.