Could Skis Created From Biobased Material Mean a Cleaner Future for Snow Sports?

Salt Lake City ski maker WNDR Alpine is hoping to transform the industry with its new ski, which is designed and made using a novel—and plentiful—biobased material. Microalgae oil is the secret sauce in the company’s backcountry skis, replacing petroleum in the plastic of the ski’s core and sidewalls. The new material—which was developed by Checkerspot, the biotech firm that owns WNDR Alpine—offers improved performance along with a smaller footprint. It’s also the first materials advancement in the ski industry since the 1950s, but WNDR hopes that other sporting-goods manufacturers will join the party sooner than that. “We have no desire to be exclusive with this technology,” says Matt Sterbenz, general manager of Wintersports at Checkerspot. “Our goal is 100% to democratize it.” Watch the video to learn more. For more great content like this, visit: https://redshift.autodesk.com/