Avalanche Lab vs Avalanche Inclinometer

Imagine... You see an avalanche, you ski over to the crown and pull out your iPhone. You snap a photo, measure the slope angle and aspect, then record a crown profile, all on your phone. As you ski down the path, you use your phone as GPS to map the slide. When you get to the toe of the slide you send a diagram of the crown and a map of the slide to your colleagues back at the office, then you post it to the Avalanche Lab network to alert everyone else. With Avalanche Lab you can do all that and more. Avalanche Lab was developed out of a desire to easily enter snow and avalanche data in the field, and then electronically share that data. Avalanche Lab uses all those fancy features on your iPhone to make it as easy as possible. It has all the features an avalanche professional would want, and is simple enough to be used by backcountry skiers and even snowboarders. Avalanche Lab includes clinometer, GPS, and compass support so you can accurately measure and mark your field sites. Avalanche Lab is designed to be used in the field, there is no need for a wifi or cell signal. Most inputs are multiple choice to eliminate the need for typing, and the buttons are big for use with cold fingers. Avalanche Lab produces professional quality snow pit diagrams in the standard format, and in a compact format for display on mobile devices, and saves diagrams as an image or PDF file. Other export formats include KML maps of avalanches, CAAML xml, and SnowPilot format. Avalanche Lab can also import CAAML v5 snow profiles so you can load data from other software for viewing in the field. https://avalanchelab.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Terms-of-Use.pdf

Avy savvy backcountry skiers and riders know that three things count when it comes to the terrain’s influence on avalanches: the slope, the elevation, and the (compass) aspect. And the Avalanche Inclinometer delivers all three. Sure, you can find plenty of inclinometer apps (also known as clinometers) that are designed for carpenters, but Steve's Avalanche Inclinometer is meant for people who spend time in avalanche terrain. This app shows the slope, elevation, and aspect in BIG FONTS which are perfect for tired eyes in stormy (or bright-and-too-sunny) weather. And it doesn’t display a gaggle of tiny buttons and widgets to decipher when you should be skiing. You can sight across a slope by holding your phone parallel to the slope, or you can sight up or down a slope by sighting along the long-edge of your phone like a gunsight. (Through-the-camera sighting is nifty when the light is just right, but it often isn't.) When you have your phone aligned with the slope, a single tap on the screen will lock the data so you can read it. The Avalanche Inclinometer will even speak to you as you’re measuring the steepness so you won’t need to look at the screen. And the BIG inclinometer dial changes colors based on the slope which provides instant feedback on how the steepness of the terrain is contributing to the likelihood of an avalanche. After measuring the slope, you can tap a single button to share your current GPS location, the slope in degrees, and the elevation. The email includes kml and gpx waypoint files, and a link that will let you quickly see the location in any browser. You can enter the email address one time and the Avalanche Inclinometer will remember it for next time. Less typing; more skiing. The Avalanche Inclinometer isn’t free, but apps don’t grow on trees. To buy this app you’ll spend less than buying a beer at a ski resort—think of it as buying Steve a beer! In addition to the Avalanche Inclinometer, it is important that you take an avy class, pay attention to the avalanche red flags, use good route finding techniques, and practice your avalanche rescue skills frequently