Garmin takes Downhill to the max in Laax

Garmin raised its profile mountain-high when we took to the slopes for the 2010 Brits Snowboard and Ski Festival in Laax, Switzerland.  

Equipped with weatherproof and altitude-friendly GPS devices from our outdoor and sport ranges we dared festival-goers to brave the piste and chase the inaugural title in our Garmin Downhill Challenge.

Speed freaks and downhill demons took turns test-running the hands-free Foretrex 401 and multi-sport Forerunner 310XT in a battle to clock the best maximum speeds down a 2228-metre drop.

The Garmin tent at the top of the Crap Sogn Gion and challenge leaderboard at the bottom of the run were a-buzz with powder hounds and plankers jostling to slope-test a Garmin GPS and rack up their best times.

The competition was divided into male ski, female ski, male snowboard and female snowboard, with the winner of each category then put in a draw for the chance to defend their title at the Brits 2011.

Garmin Downhill champions after the week-long event were:

Male ski – Rod Andean – 111.9 kph
Female ski – Danielle Freeze – 102.8 kph
Male snowboard – James Stentiford – 107.8 kph
Female snowboard – Ivy Taylor – 70.5 kph

Fastest female boarder Ivy Taylor will return in 2011 to tank it down the slopes once more and, with Garmin measuring her max speed, hoping to bag another PB in a bid to hang on to her Downhill Challenge crown.

 
  
Check out more pics from the week.