Don’t Just Visit Your Favourite Resort, Wear It

Let’s face it, skiers and snowboarders world over are extremely territorial when it comes to their favourite resort. We are sure many a chairlift debate, après discussion and possibly small bar fight could have started over which resort is the best, which resort has the biggest terrain or longest vert. What if you could show your support for your favourite resort in the same way we support our favourite sporting teams or bands. Well, let us introduce you to the team behind SkiMapIt. This unique aussie brand from the far west is deep rooted in Japan and now wants you to be able to showcase your favourite resort by rocking some awesome looking soft goods made from the graphic of the trail maps. We sat down with Dylan from SkiMapIt to learn more about him, the business and what they have on offer. Check out the full interview below and do them a solid and follow them on Instagram. Who are you? Well I’m Dylan and Quent is my business partner. We met over 13 years ago as we were training to be paramedics in Perth Australia. Little did we know that we not only both shared a passion for helping others but we both have a small obsession with that fluffy white yuki pow. Throughout our friendship we have made many trips to Japan and fell in love with Hokkaido and the many resorts found on the island, specifically Rusutsu. We wanted to share our love of Rusutsu with many others in our field and set up a conference business which brought medical professionals and paramedics from around the globe to Rusutsu. These conferences allow the attendees to get up their PD hours but also get out and explore what we think is one of the best places on earth to ski and snowboard. As is with many other business and more specifically international businesses the pandemic has put an indefinite pause on the conferences. As part of the conference pack, we had started putting a small trail map goggle wipe and the feedback year on year was supportive and encouraging, so as we sat in Perth dreaming of when we could get back to Rusutsu, Japan we decided to pivot and create SkiMapIt.

Where did you learn to snowboard?I am an avid snowboarder and have been since the late 90s. My first snow experience was a school trip from Western Australia all the way over to Falls Creek. From that first trip I was hooked and then stoked to get to go again in 1999 when I was in year 12. After a few years off as I started to establish my career, I was able to then get over and do a whole season at Whistler. It was at this point that I knew snowboarding was going to be a part of my life. Now with some kids alongside me I have also dabbled in trying to ski however snowboarding is where the heart is. Favourite Aussie ski resort?I feel like I can’t form a solid opinion on the Australian resorts as it’s been quite some time since I last visited them. Being Perth based its easier and more cost effective to get up to Japan and we all know that you simply get more bang for your buck up there. The snow conditions are consistently incredible, and you are also able to get a cultural experience at the same time. Favourite International ski resort?Rusutsu, Japan is like a second home to me, I have spent more time riding the terrain across the resort than any other mountain on the planet. Being based in Hokkaido the resort gets an insane amount of snow each year and between the start of Jan to the end of Feb its rare to get a sunny day as the pow storms just back up day on day.On average Rusutsu gets 15m of fluffy dry Japow which refills most evenings. Even on an off season they are still getting more than 10m of snow and when compared to the 2.5m the Australian resorts get its pretty easy to see why we go to Japan year on year.Whilst spending a lot of time over in Hokkaido we have explored a bit and a solid runner up would be Furano. Furano offers up steeper terrain than Rusutsu and has nearly double the vertical but Rusutsu in our opinion is more fun. If anyone was to ask where to ride it would also be at the top of the list.

Image Credit: SkiMaptIt

Image Credit: Rusutsu Holiday

Image Credit: Rusutsu Holiday What was your inspiration to create SkiMapIt?Running our conference business out of Japan we had always tried to think of fun and unique ways to surprise the attendees, one year we added a lens wipe to the conference pack except this lens wipe was a trail map of the resort. Trail maps are always required especially in ski resorts that have multiple zones but traditionally they are printed on paper, creating more waste which is not something mountain regions should have to deal with.The feedback from the google wipe was great and grew year on year. Then came along the pandemic and as we sat in Perth wondering when we would be able to get back over to Japan we decided to commercialise the google wipe and get it out there for the aussie and kiwi riders.We also wanted to do our part and allow riders to do their part for the environment by creating a reusable dual functioning tool for the slopes. By getting the resort trail maps onto other items that are already used by riders helps to eliminate paper. Resorts all have a version of the trail maps in their apps or on their website however the risk of dropping a phone from a chairlift is all too real and not something any riders wants to experience. All of this whilst representing your favourite resort and being able to do your part for the environment. Mountain towns and ski resorts are pristine places, we wanted to do our part and help riders all over the world do their part for the environment and purchase a multi use tool which one day will be created with 100% recycled materials.

What success have you seen so far?Coming from a traditional conference background SkiMapIt is our first e-commerce-based venture. We see success in being able to build it from a simple idea, complete the designs in house, take the products through the production process and then create our website and online store. It was quite an incredible feeling when the first drop of products came through and we were able to fulfil some orders. We are excited to be able to get back to Japan and showcase our new range of products to a more international audience. What makes your products a little different?We believe what makes a good product is offering a multi-functional aspect, specifically when it comes to riding on a mountain and you want to limit what you carry with you. Not only are the google wipes great for clearing the mist on those low light days they are perfect for a GoPro, mobile phones or even to keep in the car for sunnies during the summer months. We have noticed it also seems to strike up a conversation when people see them as no trail map is the same and they are always vibrant.

Where can we buy your products? As of today, we are offering our products through our website on skimapit.com. We think what sets us apart is that we offer free shipping with no minimum spend. Having a small and unique product means that we can absorb the cost of shipping which in today’s world sometimes is the difference between closing a sale or not. Is there anything else you are selling? It all started with the simple google lens however we have been able to extend the soft good products to now include a google pouch, a facemask (neck tube) and our latest product is the Balaclava.All of the above products come in a range of resort trail maps including Japan, Australia and New Zealand, the full line up can be found on our website. We wanted to make sure that if riders have a soft spot for a number of resorts, they could represent each resort in a different way.

What's next for skimapit?To truly support the mountain regions we love and treasure we want to move production to a completely recyclable material. It really pains us to see the amount of rubbish and junk that is discarded from chairlifts (whether dropped or thrown) it has to be picked up and managed by someone. Our initial research showed that it was going to be really tough to get a clean and crisp high-res image on the material available to us however we will continue to search and find a way to make it happen. We also would love to see all of our products being made in Australia to support the local community. The next product that we want to explore is to see if we can find a great mitt / glove company who wants to partner with us which will have a special pouch to hold your trail maps.As we all now wait for the global situation to either get back to what it was before or establish how the new ways of living will move forward we recommend getting behind any of the smaller brands out there and helping them out. 2020 and now 2021 has been the year of change or pivoting, we are enjoying seeing the brighter side now start to emerge with new business like SkiMapIt taking a different lens to something that means so much to many riders. Make sure you follow us on our socials!