onX Backcountry Releases Six New App Features for Snow Enthusiasts

onX Backcountry, a navigation and discovery app for outdoor enthusiasts, announces the upcoming release of six new Snow Mode features designed to help backcountry skiers and split boarders make more informed decisions when recreating in the mountains this season. The new features include a Slope Aspect map layer, SNOTEL Data, Historic Avalanche Fatalities map markers, 924 new routes, aerial satellite maps, and Open Street Map (OSM) ski resort maps. These updates will provide powder seekers of all ability levels with intuitive tools and resources to recreate safely in the backcountry.

A multi-season exploration app, onX Backcountry has two modes–Trail Mode and Snow Mode–that allow users to toggle between their preferred adventure settings. Snow Mode provides users with resources including local avalanche forecasts from all US Avalanche Forecast Centers and Slope Angle map overlays. Along with these mode-specific features, the app also boasts the ability to take all maps and data offline and download everything to their device.

Newly released Snow Mode features include:

1. Slope Aspect. This layer illustrates the compass direction that a terrain surface faces. By knowing which way a slope is facing, onX Backcountry users can better understand sun exposure, wind, and other factors that may affect snow stability of one zone versus another.
2. SNOTEL Sites. Across the US, there are 730 SNOpack TELEmetry sites. These are weather stations installed in remote, mountainous areas that provide more accurate snow accumulation, snow depth, and temperature data than localized weather reports from nearby towns. By tapping the map, onX Backcountry users can find the deepest powder or optimal corn skiing to better plan their epic adventure.
3. Historic Avalanche Fatalities. Provided by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) and available to all onX Backcountry users regardless of subscription level, this layer maps all recorded avalanche accidents. By providing this information, onX Backcountry hopes to encourage caution among its users and better inform the backcountry community about the risks associated with recreating in avalanche terrain.
4. Beacon Guidebooks. In an exclusive partnership, onX Backcountry has added 924 backcountry skiing and snowboarding routes curated by the experts at Beacon Guidebooks. The App now boasts nearly 4,000 Snow Mode adventure reports that provide rich trip details, photos from past explorers, elevation profiles, and other information to inspire powder seekers to find their next adventure.
5. Integrated Open Street Map Ski Resort Maps and Trail Data. Now, users can navigate in-bounds at their favorite ski resorts.
6. Winter Aerial Satellite Maps. Landscapes can look very different under a blanket of snow. To make the user’s mapping experience as close to 1:1 as possible when in the field, onX Backcountry has provided satellite imagery from when snow covered the ground mid-season the previous year.

“onX Backcountry’s unique suite of Snow Mode tools empower users to easily evaluate critical factors before they head out into the mountains, and make informed decisions while recreating in the backcountry,” said Ethan Greene, Director of CAIC. “With critical information like avalanche forecasts at their fingertips, backcountry skiers and split boarders can really enjoy themselves, the untracked powder, and time spent outside.”

onX Backcountry is committed to supporting the forecasters who provide critical data across the app’s suite of Snow Mode features. Through various regional and national initiatives in 2021, including November’s Support Your Forecast campaign, onX committed $70,000 in funds to be directed to all twenty-six avalanche centers across the country. By supporting these groups and the resources they provide, onX continues to deliver content-rich data so that backcountry skiers can make the most informed decisions before heading out into the field.

New Snow Mode features will begin launching January 2022. To access, download the app or visit onxmaps.com/backcountry to subscribe or trial for free.