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As I watch the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, I can't help but ponder the variety and eccentricity of events showcased, from speeds topping 90mph to the slow strategy that is Curling. As a skier it's hard for me to imagine a world without sliding on snow. At the same time, as a member of the team here at HiDef, I see it as more than just a sport. The events of the Winter Olympics show how a culture of progression and early adoption reaps benefits not only for recreation, but for great causes as well. Allow me to explain.

Summer Olympic events like Track & Field and Swimming have been more or less the same since antiquity. The Winter Olympics, in contrast, feature highly specialized equipment, each with its own unique history and culture. Technology has always been at the heart of the Winter Olympics, and the innovations on snow and ice have led to solutions for everyday needs as well. Let's take a look at skiing in particular.

The Birth of a Skiing Culture

By 1500 B.C. skiers were affixing animal skins to the bottom of skis to climb steep slopes. The variety of ski shapes, lengths, boots and even bindings rapidly evolved. Evidence even shows that skiers shared their techniques and equipment while displaced over long distances. The early version of skiing also spun off several related technologies: sleds, snowshoes, ice-skates, and even early forms of snowboards.

Skiing Becomes a Sport

Not surprisingly, the French, with the mighty Mount Blanc in their backyard, established skiing as an amusement. The first successful ascent of Mount Blanc was in 1786, marking the official birth of mountaineering. There is evidence that locals throughout the alps enjoyed skiing the lower-lying fields and pastures of Chamonix and Argentiere, quickly making their way up to higher, more dangerous, slopes, with no utilitarian purpose.

Skiing in the 20th Century

By the 20th century skiing had matured into several of the niche sports we see today. This year's Olympic games showcase over 20 separate skiing events (including snowboarding variations). Visit a ski town and you will notice skis and boards of every shape and size, all specialized for their purpose. Snow is an extremely variable substance, and the drive to innovate is insatiable, if not always practical. Keep in mind this is the same sport that brought us baggy pants (think snowboarders) and indoor skiing facilities in Dubai.

Skiing in the 21st Century

Screenshot from Hangtime

The technology of skiing now extends into the digital realm. If you watched Shaun White launching out if the halfpipe in this Olympic games, undoubtedly you noticed that most of the athletes were queueing up tracks on their iPods. What you may not have realized is that they were also tracking g-forces and airtime using the accelerometer built into their iPhone. Several skiing-related apps exist for the iPhone offering the ability to track progress via GPS overlaid on a trailmap, or allowing one to check snow and avalanche conditions. Many athletes have integrated head protection and bluetooth wireless headsets along with point of view (POV) helmet cameras capturing the action.

Recon Transcend Goggle

Tomorrow's athlete will even have a Head up Display(HUD) built right into his or her goggles. These goggles aren't the latest trend from the Consumer Electronics Show, but rather an upcoming product revealed at the Vancouver games. The innovation features GPS information and accelerometer readings of special interest to the tech-savvy snowboarder. This cross-pollination of technology in the sport is at the heart of innovation itself, and debuting the technology at the Olympic Games is significant.

Ski technology is paving the way to wider adoption of things like wearable computing. For example, skier-designed helmet cams have been heavily adopted by the military, and avalanche rescue gear designed and developed by the ski world is used to keep people safe in mountainous areas across the world. As a skier and the founder of a nonprofit, Friends of Berthoud Pass, I believe that the contributions of the ski world can push environmental awareness, safety and even computer human interaction, and we're already seeing it happen. So when you tune into this year's events, remember these athletes are not just pushing their sport, but also the technology behind it that can end up having real-world impact.