Can a computer help you ski faster? The U.S. Ski Team thinks so - and that could spell cold, hard cash for Advanced Racing Computers.

ARC is the maker of the vLink, which uses technology developed for the optical computer mouse to measure a skier's performance and provide instant feedback on the slopes. The McMinnville company has been working with the U.S. Ski Team since 2004 to refine the device, and this month the first full production run came off the line at a Corvallis factory.

"Skiers basically have no way to measure how far they go or how fast they go," explained ARC President Richard Kirby, an ex-Hewlett-Packard engineer who based his design for the vLink on an HP optical sensor.

The vLink gathers that information and translates it into signals that help downhill skiers improve their technique, thereby shaving precious seconds off their race times.

The battery-powered system consists of several parts. There are two sensor units, called shuttles, that attach to each ski with adhesive patches. There's also a small remote control unit, designed to be worn around the neck on a lanyard, that's about the size of an MP3 player. It comes with a set of earbuds that provide feedback instantaneously, and the remote can also store performance data for later review.

Most skiers, even elite downhill racers, lose speed during turns because of sideways slippage of the ski edges, Kirby explained. The vLink's sensors measure that slippage and alert the skier that it's happening by transmitting a sound through the system's earbuds.

Each half-millimeter of sideslip is communicated through a Geiger counter-style tick. The more your skis slip, the more ticking sounds you hear.

"When you make a mistake," Kirby said, "it sounds like an avalanche of ticks."

The device also gives feedback on speed, emitting a tone that gets higher in pitch when a skiers speeds up, then gets lower as the skier slows down.

Andy Walshe, the U.S. Ski Team's associate athletic director for high performance, said about a dozen team members have worked with prototype versions of the vLink. While the data remain preliminary, he said he's excited about the device's potential.

"It's a really great way of getting more information about your skiing than you've ever been able to get before," Walshe said.

ARC has been named an official supplier for the team through the 2010 Winter Olympics. The company hopes that endorsement will spur sales among the 100,000 or so budding competitive skiers around the country who look to the U.S. team for leadership.

"What they're in the process of doing right now is incorporating the vLink into all their training materials," said Kirby, who recently moved from Oregon to Park City, Utah, where the national team trains. "From that standpoint, they're our marketing arm."

The company's first commercial production run of 500 units came off the line this month at Mega Tech, a Corvallis contract manufacturing firm.

ARC has begun selling the vLink on its Web site for a tidy $749 a pop. For another $99 you can get a spare set of mounts so you can use your vLink shuttles on more than one pair of skis.

Starting from competitive skiers, ARC is hoping to expand its market to serious amateurs - perhaps 10 percent of the world's skiers. The company is also talking with major manufacturers about the possibility of mass-producing the vLink for incorporation into high-end ski models.

"If you can sell the device at $150 retail, 30 percent of skiers in the world will buy it," Kirby said. And if they replace their skis every few years, that means a steady stream of orders.

Once the market has been created, though, the trick for ARC becomes holding onto it. With one patent granted and several more pending, Kirby believes he's got that covered, too.

"If the intellectual property is as good as the attorneys claim it is, we're not going to have competition," Kirby said. "We think for the moment we've got a corner on the market."

Bennett Hall is the business editor for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.