SHEER terror. Blind panic. Whatever you call it, it’s that gut-wrenching
feeling known to all newcomers to skiing and snowboarding as they hurtle
helplessly downhill. But help is at hand for beginners to the pistes. A new
generation of skis or snowboards will be fitted with built-in electronic brakes
that slow them down before things get too scary.
The new braking system is being developed by Victor Petrenko, an engineer at
Dartmouth College’s Ice Research Lab in New Hampshire. His idea involves running
a pair of wires the length of the board or ski’s underside, one at each edge.
The…
