French Ski Areas Congress / Cluster Montagne: Six Innovative Companies Recognised at Pitch Inno? 2026

Each selected company had three minutes to present a practical innovation to congress delegates. The solutions had already been implemented and had been commercially available for less than three years. They were designed to address current challenges facing lift operators and ski area managers.

The 2026 edition showcased six solutions developed by companies in the mountain industry. They address a range of challenges, including access to activities, product diversification, the customer experience, user comfort, safety and operational efficiency.

Tap to Ski by Caisse d’Epargne Rhône Alpes

With Tap to Ski, a bank card, smartphone or smartwatch can be used directly as a ticket for activities at a mountain resort. The system enables pay-per-use access and automatically calculates the best available rate based on actual usage. For operators, the solution opens up an additional sales channel and helps improve visitor flow management. Its reliability has already been demonstrated in a pilot project at the Les 7 Laux ski area.

The Toboggan Trail by INUIT

INUIT offers a family-friendly leisure activity that can be enjoyed all year round: a hiking trail featuring a series of slides, designed to blend into the landscape and adapt to the natural terrain. In Charmey, more than 20,000 visitors tried the activity within ten months. The return on investment is estimated at two and a half years.

Itinemap

Itinemap transforms an existing piste map into a digital navigation tool while retaining the ski area's established graphic identity. The solution makes it easier for visitors to find their way around, encourages them to explore more of the ski area and enables operators to gain a better understanding of usage patterns and visitor flows.

Sunflex by Luxiglass

Designed for cable car glazing, Sunflex is a solar-control and protective film that protects glass surfaces against scratches and reduces heat gain. Applied to existing glazing, it helps improve passenger comfort, extend the service life of the glass and reduce the need for replacement.

Natural Rock Bouldering Areas by Monolithe

With its natural rock bouldering areas, Monolithe offers a new outdoor climbing experience suitable for different ability levels and designed to be integrated into mountain resorts and their recreational areas. The concept combines sport with playful elements and gamification. The boulders are sourced from quarries and repurposed for climbing.

SKOL Occupancy by Trinum

SKOL Occupancy incorporates artificial intelligence directly into a camera to analyse various situations at lift installations in real time. These include the occupancy of lift carriers, queues and the presence of safety bars. The system can automatically trigger alerts or actions. All processing takes place locally, without cloud-based processing or an external computing unit.

The Pitch Inno’ format is deliberately concise: companies have three minutes to present their innovations to an audience of mountain industry professionals. Each presentation includes a one-and-a-half-minute video, followed by an on-stage discussion with the congress moderator.

The selected companies receive support in producing a video that they can subsequently reuse across their own communication channels. They were also brought together in a dedicated “Pitch Inno’” area within the exhibition and networking space, encouraging interaction and facilitating contact with the professionals attending the congress.

Through Pitch Inno’, Domaines Skiables de France and Cluster Montagne aim to increase the visibility of companies developing practical solutions to support the evolution of ski areas and mountain regions.

The initiative also reflects the two organisations’ commitment to fostering collaboration between ski area operators and companies across the mountain industry. Its concise and accessible format gives participants the opportunity to discover innovations that are already ready for practical application.