Ski buddy apps: what you can download today, and what to check first

Yes, there are apps for finding ski and snowboard partners, and more of them than you might expect. On November 4, 2026 we found a dozen live in the US App Store or on Google Play that are built around meeting other skiers and snowboarders, from resort-and-date matchers like Broski and Liftline to backcountry partner apps like Buddy System and Oak, and one, Shredder, that calls itself a dating app. Most are free to download; a few charge for extra features. None of them can promise someone at your mountain on your day, so the most useful thing to check is whether anyone near you is on it. SkiBuds isn't on that list: the original app left the App Store in 2022, and the rebuilt one is coming soon, with no release date yet.

Everything below comes from each app's own store listing or website as we read it on November 4, 2026. We haven't used these apps, and we don't rank them. Listings change, so check the current one before you sign up.

Apps you can download today

Prices are what the US App Store showed for in-app purchases on November 4, 2026. "No in-app purchases listed" means the App Store page showed none; it doesn't promise the app will stay free.

For finding people to ride with at a resort

• Broski: Find Your Ride Crew (iPhone, Android). Its App Store listing says it "matches skiers and snowboarders by resort, free days and ability" and is "Free at 3,500+ resorts worldwide," with a two-week availability calendar, resort and pass chats, and events, including women-only ones. Finding riders, requests, chat and safety features are free; the optional Broski Pro subscription ($1.99 a month or $9.99 a year) lifts limits such as five requests a day and one upcoming trip, and adds filters. The listing says nobody can message you until you accept their request.
• Liftline: Ski & Snowboard (iPhone, Android). Its App Store listing describes a live feed for your resort, browsing riders by skill level and terrain preference, and trip overlaps that show "who else will be at the same mountain on the same dates." It's in early access, and the listing says "an invite code is required to sign up." No in-app purchases listed.
• AlpineConnect a PowderPals XP (iPhone, Android). Its App Store listing calls PowderPals "a social app for skiers and snowboarders who want to find people to ride with," with discovery by location, ability, sport, ride style and "vibes," trips searchable by resort, departure city and dates, resort check-ins, verified profiles, and a map where you choose which connections can see your location. No in-app purchases listed. A separate app, PowderPals: Ski Buddies, from a different developer, is a trip planner with resort maps and open trips; it was listed in the Canadian, UK and Australian App Stores but not the US one when we checked.
• Skinect: Ski & Snowboard (iPhone). Its App Store listing describes browsing rider profiles by location, skill level and interests, then chatting "when there's mutual interest." It says you can block or report users at any time and delete your account in the app. The App Store lists in-app purchases called Premium at $19.99 and Premium Annual at $69.99; the listing doesn't say what Premium adds.
• Squad: Ski & Ride Together (iPhone, Android). Its App Store listing describes skill-level matching "with classic trail-marker ratings," "Squad Up" posts for finding partners, 500+ resorts to filter by, and location-based discovery that is "never shared publicly." No in-app purchases listed. Both store listings showed a last update in February 2026.
• Squads: Ski Snowboard Meetups (iPhone, Android). A different app from Squad, from Faceted LLC, released in September 2026. Its App Store listing calls it "a meetup app for skiers and snowboarders," with a social feed, an event calendar for major North American resorts, group chats with location sharing, and resort maps showing meeting spots and parking. No in-app purchases listed.
• Chairlift App (iPhone, Android). Its App Store listing is short: a social app "to connect before hitting the slopes," where you find your resort and "create or join a chairlift." No in-app purchases listed.
• SkiBuddy (iPhone, Android). Not the older ski tracker with a similar name. Its App Store listing says it connects you "based on activity, level, location and time," for winter and summer mountain sports, and promises "No groups, no tracking, no in-App payments."

For backcountry and other mountain sports

• Buddy System: Outdoor Partners (iPhone, Android). Its App Store listing says it helps you "Find compatible partners for mountaineering and backcountry skiing," with profile-based compatibility matching, trip coordination, messaging and SMS login. No in-app purchases listed.
• Oak: ski, climb, run (iPhone, Android). Its App Store listing covers ski touring, hiking, climbing and trail running: trips you can create or join by location, skill level or sport, local groups "From Chamonix to Colorado," a conditions heatmap built from members' tracks, and certified guides you can book. It says the app is "Free to download and use"; guided trips show their own prices on the map.

A partner app doesn't replace avalanche training, rescue gear or the conversation about both. Our backcountry partner guide covers what to settle before you tour with someone new.

Adjacent: dating and carpooling

• Shredder Ski & Snowboard (iPhone; we couldn't find a Google Play listing). Its App Store listing opens: "Shredder is the dating app for skiers and snowboarders." Profiles show home resort, pass, skill level and favorite terrain. It's 18 and over, with report and block on every profile and chat. Gold and Platinum subscriptions add unlimited likes, more filters and more visibility; the App Store's in-app purchases include Gold Weekly at $6.99 and Shredder Premium Annual at $59.99. If you want a date rather than a riding partner, our post on ski dating apps goes further.
• Shredpool: Ski Carpool App (iPhone). Its App Store listing calls it "the rideshare app built for skiers and snowboarders," for finding seats to resorts and splitting gas, and says it is "100% Free" while it launches. The listing showed a last update in December 2025.

Why buddy apps struggle: the empty-map problem

A buddy app is only as useful as the people on it who ride your mountain, on your days, at roughly your pace. That makes the first season the hardest. Somebody has to open the app and find nobody nearby so that the next person finds one, and plenty of people stop opening it after the first empty look. Every app on the list above has to get through that, however good its features are.

We know this one from the inside. Stephen Phillips built the original SkiBuds app while riding at Whistler in 2018/19. By the end of the 2019/20 season it had 6,600 users and more than 350 people using it a day, and by March 2021 Stephen had met more than 100 people through it. That sounds like a lot until you spread it across every mountain riders used it at. The next winter, daily use fell to about 100 to 150 people, though the post noted that the people still using it were "much more active on the forum," with more and more meetups.

The app was free and, as that 2021 post put it, "hasn't been monetized in any way." It was also built in Stephen's free time, and the post's conclusion was blunt: it is "almost impossible to try to launch a platform for skiing without money or with a very small team behind it no matter how motivated those people are." In October 2022 the SkiBuds Instagram account posted: "After some hard decisions skibuds is no longer on the App Store due to the costs," with a fundraiser to cover the developer license. Keeping an app in the stores and its servers running costs money every year, whether or not anyone near you is on it.

That's worth keeping in mind when you look at the list. A subscription isn't a bad sign by itself; it's one way an app pays for staying around. A free app isn't a red flag either. But an app's age, its last update and whether people near you are on it will tell you more than its feature list.

What to check before you sign up

• Are there people near your mountain? If you can browse before you build a profile, set it to your home mountain and count. If you can't, make the shortest profile it allows and count then. Google Play shows a download range on each listing; on November 4, 2026 the apps above ranged from 1+ (Liftline, which is invite-only) to 50K+ (Oak, which also covers hiking, climbing and running). A range tells you the app's overall size, not who's riding your hill.
• What's behind a paywall? Check whether finding riders, sending requests and messaging are free, or whether the limits that matter for a first meetup, such as requests per day or who you can see, sit behind a subscription. Broski's listing, for example, spells out what its free tier includes. Subscriptions on iPhone and Android renew automatically until you cancel them in your account settings.
• Can you report and block, and who can message you? Look for report and block on profiles and in chat, and for whether a stranger can message you before you accept a request. Broski's listing, for example, says nobody can message you until you accept their request; if a listing doesn't say, check the app's help pages or terms.
• What does it do with your location? Live maps of nearby riders are common. Check whether location is off until you turn it on, whether you can share an approximate spot instead of an exact one, and who sees it. The store's privacy section lists what data the app says it collects.
• Is it drifting into dating? Riding apps and dating apps can look alike: photos, swiping, "mutual interest." There's nothing wrong with either, but know which one you've joined, and say what you're after in your profile. A person who agrees to a few laps has agreed to a few laps.

Whatever you use, the first meetup works the same way: a busy base area in daylight, your own way there, a friend who knows where you are, and one run before you commit to a day. The safety page covers it step by step.

Where SkiBuds stands

SkiBuds is being rebuilt for iOS and Android. The new app is coming soon, and no release date has been announced; the launch status on the home page will change when it's in the stores. We won't pretend it solves the empty-map problem on launch day, because no app does.

The features page describes what the rebuild is planned to do for finding riders: Discover filters for skill level, availability and terrain such as groomers, park, powder, trees and backcountry; friend requests, private messages and mountain conversations for carpooling and après; and live location sharing that is off by default and visible only to friends. Report and block are planned for every profile and message. It's also planned to bring snow forecasts, mountain maps and GPS run tracking, so the app is useful on a day you ride alone too. The FAQ has the details, including what's not coming back from the original app.

Channels that work without an app

Most riding partners are still found the old ways, and these already have people in them:

• Reddit. r/SkiBuddies sorts posts by region tags such as [CA], and regional ski subreddits run buddy and carpool threads.
• Meetup. The skiing and snowboarding topic pages list groups by location. Pick one with events on the calendar.
• A ski club. In the US, the National Ski Council Federation lists regional councils and their member clubs. How to join a ski club covers what to ask before you pay dues.
• A free host tour or a group lesson. Some resorts run free tours with volunteer guides; Whitefish's ambassador tours leave twice a day. Everyone on the tour is someone you could ride with afterward. Planning a solo ski trip lists more.
• The chairlift. Much of the original SkiBuds came from ideas people shared with Stephen on chairlifts. A good chat ends with "Want to take a lap?"

Where to find ski buddies covers all of these in more depth, with a post you can copy, and the meetup checklist and planner turns your mountain, terrain, pace and meeting spot into a message for any group or app.

Questions riders ask

Is there an app to find people to ski with?

Yes. As of November 4, 2026, apps including Broski, Liftline, PowderPals, Skinect, Squad, Squads, Chairlift App and SkiBuddy say they help skiers and snowboarders find people to ride with, and Buddy System and Oak focus on backcountry and other mountain sports. Whether one works for you depends on whether people near your mountain use it.

Are ski buddy apps free?

Most are free to download. Some charge for extras: on the US App Store on November 4, 2026, Broski Pro was $1.99 a month or $9.99 a year, Skinect listed Premium at $19.99 and Premium Annual at $69.99, and Shredder, a dating app, listed purchases including Gold Weekly at $6.99. Check what the free version lets you do before you pay.

Is SkiBuds available?

Not yet. The original SkiBuds app left the App Store in 2022, and the rebuilt app for iOS and Android is coming soon with no release date announced. You can use this website's resort guides and forecasts and free planning tools now.