Electric Skis Tested on Challenging Colorado Spring Snow

“This isn’t kinda the conditions you’d see most days,” said Nate Sullivan, Frigid Dynamics’ lead sales engineer. “It’s spring—ice, with corn on top of it, so really hard to get traction.”

Still, Sullivan said, the Vipera was able to climb through the manky snow. “It kind of just shot right up there,” he said. In the footage, Sullivan raced up and down the slopes. As he descended, the Vipera was able to hit about 20 miles per hour.

The footage provides a glimpse of the Vipera’s promise to consumers: they’re skis, if skis had a baby with a snowmobile. Affixed to the back of each plank is an electric tread controlled by a remote attached to a ski pole. With the remote, the user can brake, toggle the speed, and monitor the Vipera’s battery levels.

According to Frigid Dynamics, the Vipera can climb slopes of up to 15% degrees and travel 10 miles on a single charge, conditions dependent.

It’s all very sci-fi and bound to ruffle the feathers of some members of the ski community, but Frigid Dynamics isn’t alone in trying to bring portable, battery-powered gadgets to the slopes.

The E-Skimo crosses an e-bike with touring skis, while Zoa Engineering’s PL1—which we tested—is a portable rope tow designed for backcountry use.

The extent to which these devices catch on remains to be seen, but don’t be surprised if you spot a pair of self-powered skis somewhere on the trails next winter. Frigid Dynamics, according to its website, plans to begin shipping the Vipera to northern hemisphere customers in December 2025.