From Snowless Slopes to CES: How Three French Founders Invented Electric Skis and Accidentally Created a New Sport

At first, SKWHEEL (amusingly pronounced “Squeal”) sounds like the kind of startup idea dreamt up at 2 am after too much “après-ski’: electric skis without snow.

And yet, somewhere between the roads of outer Honfleur, the slopes of a snow-starved French ski station, and the showfloor of CES Las Vegas, the concept appears to have escaped the realm of gimmick and entered something far more serious: the creation of an entirely new sport category.

Today, the Normandy-based startup claims to have created the world’s first electric skis: battery-powered, all-terrain gliding devices capable of carving across asphalt, dirt tracks, gravel, and mountain roads at speeds of up to 25km/h.

Yes, it sounds slightly absurd. Which is partly why people love it.

Born From Frustration and a Rejected Engineering School Application

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