Skitourenguru

At 3,558 meters, the Presanella is the highest mountain in Trentino. On this tour, we found freedom and powder snow, but I not only lost a ski strap and my golden pennant, but also my anterior cruciate ligament. In this article, I will describe our three-day tour, which was characterized by special conditions and impressive exposure. Tp wrap it up, I will begin a critical discussion about the tour and the accident.

The winter has been contradictory so far: "We" in the north have been waiting for what feels like ages for a solid base, which is now finally on the horizon. In contrast, real amounts of snow have already fallen in the southern regions of the Alps. Time for a quick look behind the scenes at PowderGuide. How have the reach, usage and community developed since the start of the season? What factors are driving traffic and what can you, as our readers, look forward to in the coming months?

What experienced skiers could more or less reliably glean from the text of the bulletin is now put into concrete figures. From this season onwards, the SLF will use three intermediate levels for the avalanche danger levels moderate, considerable, large and very large. For level 3, for example, a 3, 3= or 3+ is given in addition to the "whole" level (3, considerable). 3- is closer to 2, 3= is "neutral" and 3+ is closer to 4.

A recent SLF study uses GPS tracks from the Skitourenguru.ch database to correlate avalanche accidents with the number of accident-free ascents. This makes it possible to calculate which danger levels and terrain characteristics are particularly risky. There are some interesting differences to the reduction factors known from the Munter reduction method.

Modern phones can not only replace the classic map, but also offer compass and GPS functions - as long as the battery keeps up. Slope maps are particularly useful for us winter sports enthusiasts. Below is a guide on how to use open source slope maps on your cell phone without having to subscribe to an app. A comparative overview of some of the more popular subscription map apps will follow soon.

"Is this usable for me or too technical?" - These were exactly the thoughts I had when I received an invitation from the SLF to give a presentation on skitourenguru.ch and the quantitative reduction method (QRM). I had had no previous contact with the QRM and the Skitourenguru platform was also largely unknown to me.

Günter Schmudlach is the inventor, founder and programmer of the Swiss online portal Skitourenguru.ch. The avalanche report assesses the risk of countless ski touring routes in Switzerland and soon in the entire Alpine region on a daily basis. A highly innovative project, in our opinion. We spoke to Günter about Skitourenguru in general, his motivation and his vision for the future.