Verbier Rents out Drones & Operator

Interesting. Any costs mentioned?

What is this printed in?

Roll up roll up all you narcissists out there!
Another dangerous distraction to add to the GoPro drivers out there.

Brucie wrote:Another dangerous distraction to add to the GoPro drivers out there.

Can't be long until we see the first instance of "drone rage" if one of these gets in someone's way...

And will we see "reverse drone strikes" where they're brought down by a well-aimed snowball or two... :lol:

This is from the Verbier 2015/16 winter press dossier.

"NOUVEAU ! Drones Hexo+

Exit les caméras embarquées, les drones sont les nouveaux accessoires à la mode pour immortaliser les plus beaux paysages et les exploits sportifs des vacances d'hiver. Grâce à une nouvelle collaboration avec la société française Hexo+, Verbier fait office de précurseur. En première européenne, la station permet aux skieurs et snowboardeurs de louer des drones suiveurs. Sans télécommande, ces drones innovants accompagnent les descentes et les figures grâce au système Bluetooth et à une application smartphone. Si l'utilisation de drones privés est interdite sur l'ensemble du domaine skiable, les drones Hexo+ peuvent survoler des zones définies à l'avance, telles que le funslope à Savoleyres ou le snowpark de la Chaux. Prix : entre 250 et 400 CHF
Encadrement sur place par un professionnel afin de garantir la meilleure expérience. Réservation sur le site internet des remontées mécaniques de Verbier : www.verbier4vallees.ch"

As yet there is no mention of the service on the Verbier website.

Admin wrote:

Brucie wrote:Another dangerous distraction to add to the GoPro drivers out there.

Can't be long until we see the first instance of "drone rage" if one of these gets in someone's way...

And will we see "reverse drone strikes" where they're brought down by a well-aimed snowball or two... :lol:

Interesting Insurance problems too. I hear that they are starting to ask questions about GoPros in liability cases.

@Ianm: This is from the Verbier piste map for the coming season.

My view is that this is a sensible approach to discouraging careless drone use: Verbier already has experience in using drones for ski team training. The feedback from earlier trials covering the Freeride event is that you need a fairly powerful, pro-class drone to handle the thinner air plus a camera payload. And anyone who wants good footage would do better hiring an experienced operator who's done it before. In the cold conditions, most recreational drones aren't going to fly for very long before the battery dies. So all-in-all, the service should hopefully discourage people from bringing their own devices, given the hassle of just getting it there and then carrying a dead drone 'round all day for probably just 10 minutes of active flight.