From finding the right lift to meeting up with family and friends, a Belgian snowboarder's passion project aims to take the guesswork out of navigating unfamiliar ski resorts.
Anyone who has visited an unfamiliar ski resort knows the feeling. You're standing at a junction, trying to make sense of a piste map, wondering which lift to take next. One wrong turn can mean an unexpected detour, a long traverse or ending up on the wrong side of the mountain.
For families travelling to ski races, finding your way around an unfamiliar resort can be particularly challenging. Between reaching the right lifts, locating meeting points and navigating different parts of the mountain, there's already plenty to think about.
Belgian snowboarder and software developer Nick Vandenbesselaer believes technology can make things easier.
That's why he created Glidr, a ski and snowboard navigation app for Android and iOS, built around a simple idea: what if navigating a ski resort worked more like the GPS navigation we use in our cars?
Born from a snowboarder's frustration
Glidr started as a personal project inspired by Nick's own experiences on the mountain.
As a snowboarder, Nick regularly found himself studying piste maps, trying to figure out the best route to reach a particular destination. Taking the wrong connection could be especially frustrating when it meant ending up on a long, flat section.
Rather than simply accepting those frustrations, he decided to build something himself.
What began as a passion project has gradually developed into a navigation app with route planning, smartwatch guidance and features designed to help skiers and snowboarders stay connected.
And unlike many technology products, Glidr isn't backed by a large development team.
Nick is building and improving the app independently, combining his experience as a software developer with his passion for snowboarding.
Turn-by-turn navigation, right on your wrist
At its core, Glidr helps users navigate between destinations within a ski resort.
Instead of repeatedly stopping to consult a traditional piste map, users can select a destination and let Glidr calculate a route using the resort's pistes and lifts.
The app provides turn-by-turn guidance, helping riders understand which piste to follow, where to turn and which lift to take.
One of its most distinctive features is smartwatch navigation.
On compatible Garmin, Apple Watch and Wear OS devices, riders can receive navigation instructions directly on their wrist. This means less time taking a phone out of a jacket pocket and more time enjoying the mountain.
Glidr also supports offline navigation, making it useful in mountain environments where mobile reception can be unreliable.
For snowboarders, the app also aims to make route choices more practical by helping riders anticipate flat sections where maintaining speed can be important.
A useful companion for ski racing families
Although Glidr wasn't originally designed specifically for ski racing, its features could prove particularly useful for families visiting unfamiliar resorts for competitions.
Imagine arriving at a resort you've never visited before. You need to reach a particular lift, find your way towards the race area or meet family members elsewhere on the mountain.
Instead of relying entirely on paper maps or trying to explain directions over the phone, Glidr can help you navigate towards a selected destination.
The app also includes Crew, a feature that lets connected riders share their locations with one another.
For families and groups skiing in different parts of a resort, this provides an additional way to stay connected.
Glidr also allows users to report issues involving pistes and lifts, contributing to a community-driven approach to sharing information on the mountain.
Of course, the app is intended as a navigation aid rather than a replacement for official resort information, race organisers' instructions or mountain safety guidance.
Built and tested on real mountains
Developing navigation software for ski resorts comes with challenges that don't exist on ordinary roads.
Skiers and snowboarders move through complex networks of pistes, lifts and connections, often in changing mountain conditions.
To test Glidr beyond the development environment, Nick travelled to Austria in October 2026, putting the app through its paces on glacier ski areas.
These real-world tests help identify improvements to navigation, smartwatch functionality and battery performance before the main winter season.
For Nick, testing the app on snow is an essential part of the development process.
Building Glidr independently also means that feedback from real users plays an important role in deciding what to improve next.
More than just navigation
While navigation remains Glidr's main focus, Nick's longer-term ambition is to build a more connected skiing and snowboarding experience.
The app already includes features such as Crew location sharing, community reporting and ways for riders to connect with one another.
The goal is to make navigating unfamiliar mountains easier while encouraging skiers and snowboarders to help one another.
With the winter season approaching, Nick hopes more people will give Glidr a try and share their experiences.
Try Glidr for free
Glidr is available for Android and iOS, with navigation guidance also supported on compatible Garmin, Apple Watch and Wear OS devices.
The app is free to download, and new users can try their first three navigation routes for free.
For continued navigation, day and week passes are available.
Whether you're travelling to a ski race, exploring a new resort with friends or simply trying to avoid taking the wrong lift, Glidr offers another way to find your way around the mountain.
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