Interactive Topography Map: What Would You Design?

The cost of moving significant volumes of earth, much less changing the entire topography of a mountain, is so great that the ski industry could never support it. Only the promise of uncovering precious metals or other valuable natural resources prompts enough activity to even begin making a dent. And let’s face it, mining operations aren’t exactly leaving behind dream lines for us to go rip either. But it sure is fun to imagine!

This interactive topography map is a bit mesmerizing and can really make the imagination run wild. It’s like Tony Hawk’s skatepark builder, but for the all-mountain freerider.

What if you had the ability to design your own terrain? Your own mountain? What kind of runs would it have? What terrain would you include? I think I’d dump a bag of marshmallows on at least one side.

Could this potentially be used as an avalanche terrain training tool or search and rescue? How about guiding or general ski instruction? What other practical applications for the ski industry do you see?