Almost all ski areas have banned visitors from using drones, but that doesn't mean that you won't be seeing them at your local hill. A few months ago we reported on Cape Productions, a company that has partnered with a group of ski areas to offer edited drone videos to skiers. Just last week, Cape Productions announced that the Federal Aviation Administration gave it approval to fly hundreds of feet closer to people than previously allowed.
Cape Productions uses automated drones to film skiers and snowboarders on select ski runs at partner resorts. You get two to three runs for your video and then a team of professional editors creates a 1.5-minute video with varied footage including slow motion, music, and visual effects. Most packages are between $50-$150, depending on the ski area.
Before this recent announcement, the FAA typically required commercial drones to stay at least 500 feet away for safety reasons. But Cape Productions has been recording skiers in Canada for over a year now, prompting the FAA to allow the company to record skiers at much closer distances here in the United States.
According to their website, Cape Productions is currently taking reservations at Fernie Alpine Resort in British Columbia, Powder Mountain in Utah, and Squaw Valley Resort and Homewood Mountain Resort, both in Tahoe. It then plans to expand later this winter to Winter Park, Colo.; Powder Mountain Resort in Utah; Timberline Lodge and Ski Area and Mount Hood Meadows Resort in Oregon; Mountain Creek Resort in New Jersey and Schweitzer Mountain Resort in Idaho.
· FAA approves ski-video drones [USA Today]
· Cape Productions [Official Site]
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