Five Ways to Use Garmin Products for Skiing and Snowboarding

And why you should take a Garmin smartwatch and inReach^® device on your next winter sport adventure. 

Ever wondered how to use Garmin products when skiing or snowboarding? We have the answers. 

When you bring your compatible Garmin smartwatch, you can easily access detailed information about your runs, view preloaded ski resort maps and maps of your surroundings, and set up weather notifications — all from your wrist. Plus, with an inReach¹ device, you can be prepared in case of an emergency. 

Garmin products are here to help. Here’s the breakdown. 

Winter sport activities 

Several Garmin smartwatches have these activities included: skiing, snowboarding, backcountry skiing, backcountry snowboarding, cross-country classic skiing, cross-country skate skiing, ice skating and snowshoeing. View the complete list of compatible watches here. 

With skiing and snowboarding activities, for example, you’ll be able to see the time and distance of your last run, descent, top and average speeds, and more. These two activities are intended for downhill or alpine skiing or snowboarding. 

The backcountry activities are for when you’re skiing or snowboarding in unmarked or unpatrolled areas. You’ll be able to see your elevation change, speed, time and more on your compatible watch. 

For cross-country classic skiing, you’ll be able to see the distance, time, speed, heart rate² and elevation while skiing on mostly level areas. Cross-country skate skiing is intended for packed, mostly level snow surfaces and displays distance, time, speed, heart rate and elevation on your watch. Plus, if you pair your HRM-Pro^™ Plus to your compatible watch such as the fēnix^® 8 series, you’ll see real-time feedback about how well you are performing, thanks to the skiing power data. 

Preloaded ski resorts 

Smartwatches such as fēnix 8 or Enduro^™ 3 give you access to preloaded ski maps for over 2,000 ski resorts across the globe. That means you’ll have better situational awareness when looking at the map data page. Each map shows run names with the difficulty level by color, as well as ski lifts, elevation contour lines, nearby points of interest and more. 

These SkiView^™ maps will appear by default when using the ski or snowboard activity on your watch. You can also enable these maps on the backcountry ski, cross-country classic ski, cross-country skate ski and snowshoe activities. 

Outdoor map features 

But wait. The mapping gets better. In addition to the preloaded ski maps, select watches offer built-in mapping with enhanced map navigation through dynamic round-trip routing. Plus, you can see terrain contours with preloaded TopoActive maps. 

Upgrade to Outdoor Maps+³, and you’ll be able to add map layers, including satellite imagery, public land maps, campgrounds, national parks and more. 

Adventuring with a snowmobile? We’ve got that covered too with the rugged Tread^® 2 powersport navigator. In addition to turn-by-turn navigation for off-road explorations, Tread 2 offers snowmobile-accessible trails and locations throughout the northern U.S. and all of Canada. Pair this with your wired Handlebar Controller, and you get button control of your map so you can keep your hands on your snowmobile. 

Communicate with inReach 

When you hit the slopes, you never expect to get hurt — but you should always be prepared. With the inReach Messenger Plus or inReach Mini 2, you can trigger an interactive SOS message to Garmin Response^℠, an international emergency response coordination center that’s staffed 24/7 — even in the backcountry. You also get two-way messaging so you can keep loved ones updated. The inReach Messenger Plus⁴ enables you to send photos and voice messages as well.  

Plus, in an emergency, if you have paired your inReach to your compatible smartwatch, you can trigger an SOS and message with Garmin Response directly from your watch. 

Thanks to the durable design and long battery life, an inReach device can withstand extreme temperatures and last for weeks. If you send a text message or location every 10 minutes in low-power messaging mode, the inReach Messenger Plus can reach up to 25 days of battery life. The inReach Mini 2 gets up to 14 days of battery life when tracking your location every 10 minutes. 

Detailed weather updates 

It’s key to stay weather aware. 

Both the inReach Mini 2 and inReach Messenger Plus offer inReach Weather, so you can get weather updates and request forecasts. With a watch such as the fēnix 8 series, you can set up weather alerts when you pair it with a compatible smartphone. That allows you to plan your route around the weather or find shelter. 

Browse our collection of outdoor adventure watches and satellite communicators to prepare yourself before you hit the slopes and trails. 

_{¹Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.} 

_{²See Garmin.com/ataccuray} 

_{³Always defer to official sources because this information may not be up to date. This information is not available for every LTE service provider or every geographical area.}  

_{⁴Jurisdiction restrictions may apply; requires active inReach subscription and paired smartphone. Photo and voice messaging requires use of the Garmin Messenger™ app on your compatible smartphone.}