Changing How We Measure Pitch: What's New and Why It Matters

Carv now measures pitch using your sensors, and Ski:IQ has been optimized to reward great technique in steep pitch.

The Takeaways

• Skiing well as the terrain gets steeper is one of the things that sets great skiers apart. So Carv needs to measure slope pitch and account for pitch in Ski:IQ to become an even better coach.

• We mentioned in the Ski:IQ Nevado blog that we were testing important improvements in Ski:IQ throughout November to better account for pitch. And now they are ready.

What is changing

The Old Way: Carv used GPS with map-based elevation data to measure the pitch of each run. However, this approach had a number of disadvantages:

• Elevation data was sometimes inaccurate

• Elevation maps were only available for some resorts, on specific runs, and with different degrees of detail

• Updating elevation maps reliably at scale was challenging

The New Way: With our latest Sensor Fusions and Motion AI advances, pitch is now measured by Carv sensors, which has a number of advantages:

• Carv can detect pitch indoors and outdoors, inbounds and out of bounds; everywhere you go

• Pitch can be measured for every turn that you make

• As we continue to make improvements in pitch measurement, the improvements immediately scale to everyone, no matter where they ski.

This change has led to improvements in how Ski:IQ responds to the steepness of slopes as you ski:

Previously, the slope pitch had very little impact on Ski:IQ and great technique in steep terrain was not properly rewarded. With the new update, pitch data can be measured everywhere and Ski:IQ can been optimized to reward great technique in steeps.

What does this mean for you?

• Your Historic Skiing Data (pre-Dec 2024):
  • Your historic runs will still leverage the map-based elevation data because sensor-based pitch measurement is only available with this season’s firmware (on both Carv 1 and Carv 2).
  • Since the maps aren’t available for all runs, you won’t have pitch measurements for all of your segments.
  • Ski:IQ values for historic runs will be recalculated to account for pitch. Those in shallow pitch will not change. Those in steeper pitch will stay the same or increase depending on technique.
• Your Skiing (post-Dec 2024):

  • Carv will leverage data from your sensors going forward and will provide measurements wherever you ski.

  • Ski:IQ for new runs will not change in shallow pitch. Ski:IQ will be rewarded in steeper pitch if great technique is maintained.

The Details

For years, Carv has been excellent at evaluating technique on runs with shallow or moderate pitch. But it had an issue that it consistently scored users lower in steep terrain, even if they had strong technique. Even world-class skiers known for performing amazingly well in these conditions only scored a few points higher at the most.

So what’s the problem?

• Experts often tell us that their skiing on steeper runs is much stronger than their skiing on less steep runs. They are much more proud of their skill and technique on the steep runs - yet Carv scores them the same, or in many cases, worse.

• For the rest of us, it could be quite demoralising to ski harder terrain and be scored dramatically lower, despite doing something hard and impressive that was part of our journey to better skiing.

What’s the solution?

• With the update to Ski:IQ Nevado, maintaining strong technique on steep pitches will now be rewarded with higher Ski:IQ scores.

• That said, you won’t get a high score simply by skiing steeper slopes—your technique must still be excellent to achieve great results. The effect of your technique is far stronger than the effect of pitch on your final scores - so don’t think you can just head to a steep and get your best scores.

• In the new Ski:IQ Nevado update below, we can see that the best scores of our skiers are no longer ‘punished’ as the terrain gets steeper - and world class experts are rewarded - in line with their own and others' expectations.

How does it all work? (the technology detail)

• In the past, we measured pitch using GPS and map-based elevation data, but it was occasionally unavailable, sometimes inaccurate, and difficult to update at scale. It also wasn’t granular enough to give different values on a turn-by-turn basis.

• Our recent improvements in Sensor Fusion (combining gyroscope and accelerometer data into a unified motion model) now allow us to use data from our sensors to measure the pitch of the ski slope, both with Carv 1 and Carv 2.

• We isolate the moment when your skis are pointing downhill, and we take the pitch from the sensor at that point in the turn, measured in degrees.

• This means that we can now measure pitch for each turn individually, and the Ski:IQ algorithm can factor the pitch from each turn into each turn-by-turn Ski:IQ value you hear when Real-time Audio is in Monitor mode and each value that you see in Turn by Turn analysis in the segment view in the app. This is important because it is more reflective of the exact line you skied.

• The pitch you see displayed in your app for a skiing segment is the mean (average) of the turns in that segment after outliers have been removed. This is a good way to show you a representative pitch of your turns in the segment that is not subject to bias from small, very flat or very steep patches. But remember that the value of the pitch from each individual turn is factored into the Ski:IQ value for each individual turn.

• Keep in mind that, if you and a friend ski the same run, you might see a different pitch reading based on where you performed your turns.

• Advantages of sensor-based pitch measurement
  • Works anywhere (indoors/outdoors, in bounds/out of bounds)
  • Is more accurate than map-based pitch measurement in most cases because occasionally map data is wrongly labeled, low fidelity, or missing
  • Allows for measurement of pitch with every turn

• Disadvantages of sensor-based pitch measurement
  • Pitch measurements will be slightly different from run to run on the same slope due to the positioning of turns, variations in the snow, some variability in the measurement

We’ll continue improving the measurement of pitch and refining how pitch impacts Ski:IQ in future seasons as pitch and terrain are a huge factor in scoring and coaching great skiing.

What This Means for You:

If you’re a world-class athlete like Ted Ligety, Marcus Caston, Kaylin Richardson or you want to ski like them?: Your exceptional technique will be more rewarded on steeper terrain, as Ski:IQ better rewards the role of terrain in your exceptional skiing.

If you’re an advanced or expert skier: Maintaining strong technique on steeps will result in higher Ski:IQ scores, accurately rewarding your skill. It becomes a battleground where you can go to refine your skiing and chase a high score - but only if you ski it well!

If you’re still learning: This update offers even clearer feedback about technique in different pitch, helping you understand how you are performing in different terrain.

FAQ:

How is pitch being measured now?

We can now measure pitch using our sensors, which allows you to get pitch data anywhere. This is possible because of recent breakthroughs in our approach to Sensor Fusion (part of our Motion AI model that combines gyroscope and accelerometer data into a unified motion model). This has made the pitch data more available and accurate. In the past, we measured pitch using map data, but it was sometimes wrongly labeled, low fidelity, or missing.

For each turn, we look for the moment when the ski is pointing directly down the mountain (known as the fall-line), and this is the ‘pitch’ of the slope. We measure this in degrees.

Your pitch readings are unique to the exact line you ski - so you and your friends may see different results if you ski in different places on the same run.

Why can’t pitch be calculated by simply using the vertical and distance for each segment?

There are 2 reasons for this:

1. Altitude data is quite noisy and not accurate enough for measuring pitch at the turn level.

2. Carv focuses on measuring the technique of skiing turns. It must therefore focus on measuring pitch where the user makes turns. Calculating pitch using sections where users are simply carrying speed through flats or otherwise not turning would make the pitch measurement less useful in evaluating skiing technique. Many runs have steep areas and flat areas. Rarely do we want to stop at the intersections to get accurate readings for each part.

How is Ski:IQ changing with this latest update?

Ski:IQ for runs in steeper pitch will now better reward great technique. That means that you will see improvements in your scores in steeper pitch, but you will only score higher if your technique is maintained. Just skiing a steep pitch won’t get you a high score if your technique falls apart.

Carv should match how you feel better - removing the effect where you were proud to ski a steep well, yet getting a lower score than on a less steep run.

We will update your scores from the past to reflect these enhancements in Ski:IQ.

Will my scores go up and down?

Many of your scores from the past will stay the same, but your scores in steeper pitch will either stay the same or go up depending on your technique. None of your scores from the past will go down.

Why are you adding points / uplifting steeper pitches?

We felt that Ski:IQ Nevado, and previous versions of Ski:IQ, have been overly critical of skiing in steeper pitch to a degree that was not the best reflection of great skiing technique. As a result, we worked on a better balance of rewarding great technique in steeper pitch so that scores would be higher but would not match or exceed those in shallower pitch unless superior technique was exhibited.

Are you going to make more changes in Ski:IQ this season?

We will not be making other changes in the Ski:IQ system this season. We will now lock in this version of Ski:IQ for the season.

Do I need to pay anything for this upgrade?

No, if you have a Carv Pass, all improvements in Ski:IQ and coaching features are included.

Do I need to Carv 2 to access this?

No, this is a Ski:IQ change and works with either Carv 1 and 2. Carv 1 also runs the new Motion AI system so you will get the new pitch system. We always strive to have just one Ski:IQ system that creates a level playing field.

How do I get this?

Simply download the latest version of the Carv app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store to get the latest version of pitch measurement and Ski:IQ.