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Avalanche Detecting Drones Could be Coming to a Ski Resort Near You

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated May 21, 2025 2:10 PM ET

The future of ski resorts might look a little more, well, futuristic.

In a recent video, the drone manufacturer DJI revealed how one of its products, the Dock 3—a drone docking station—was being used by a Japanese ski resort, Nozawa Onsen, during field tests.

Nozawa Onsen, before opening, tasks its ski patrol with inspecting ski runs and determining if they’re safe for skiers. Historically, this process relied on radios, as patrollers shared what they saw in the field.

However, with DJI drones, the Dock 3, and the software program Flighthub 2, the ski resort can fly overhead and construct 3D maps of its terrain, spotting dangerous natural features from afar.

“Closed courses often carry avalanche risks, so we were always cautious about sending staff in,” said Shota Kimura, who oversees slope operations at the ski resort, in the video. “However, using drones, we feel we can now assess and respond to such areas more safely.”

“We’ve been able to identify hazardous spots that are often missed during visual inspection with greater accuracy,” added Masayuki Ueno, Nozawa Onsen’s general manager.

Tap or click to watch the technology in action below.

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The drones can also be used for safety inspections of cable cars in difficult-to-reach locations, noted Ueno.

In another application, Ueno suggested that the drones could warn guests that they’ve accidentally entered closed terrain. When skiers slid out-of-bounds, a drone could track them down and then play an audio recording telling them that they need to turn back (this one, we’ll admit, sounds dystopian).

Finally, Ueno said that in the case of a missing guest, drones have improved Nozawa Onsen’s emergency response times.

The Dock 3 is a docking station that facilitates 24/7 autonomous use of DJI drones like the Matrice 4D or Matrice 4TD. It’s equipped to handle mountain weather and can operate in temperatures as low as -22°F.

DJI’s tech being used by ski resorts isn’t new. In 2021, the company published a blog post about how Val Thorens, France, was experimenting with how drones could improve the efficiency of its mountain operations.

In one example, mountain operations teams used drones to visit and inspect Gazex stations, which are designed to trigger avalanches remotely. Traditionally, ski patrol accessed some of the harder-to-reach Gazex stations by helicopter. But remote viewing with drones provided a lower-cost alternative, saving the ski resort about $10,000 each year, according to the blog post.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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