SNOCRU founder, Ed Lewis, chats with Verizon about their mobile app for skiers and snowboarders.

Ed Lewis has been a skier for most of his life. The 31-year-old Boston native used to work a desk job in real estate, but he tried to hit the slopes whenever time permitted.

One of those times was in 2009, when Lewis planned a ski trip to Utah with a friend. “I got ditched,” Lewis says. But instead of canceling the trip or sulking in his loneliness as he skied solo, Lewis used the experience as inspiration for the social skiing and snowboarding app called SNOCRU.

The mission: to connect skiers and snowboarders on the slopes

“I wanted to think of ways I could meet other skiers and snowboarders,” Lewis says, “besides just asking random people.” The SNOCRU app Lewis founded creates a community of skiers and snowboarders.

It’s complete with GPS tracking, so you can see where your SNOCRU friends slid off to; social newsfeeds, so you know if your pal checked into the lodge for a cup of hot cocoa; weather reporting, webcam streaming and trail maps for resorts; and performance tracking, SNOCRU’s most popular feature that measures speed, slope, vertical feet, distance and more.

“My favorite feature is the real-time connectivity—sending instant messages and viewing locations within the app,” Lewis says. “But the feature I use the most is the tracking feature. I vow to never ride below 1,500 vertical feet.”

Keep Reading @ youreguide.vzw.com