Explore terrain features and avoid risky, steep, or avalanche-prone terrain.

Available for free with every OpenSnow account, along with Base + Premium.

Available now on the OpenSnow iOS app and OpenSnow.com. Coming soon to the Android app.

Getting Started

1. Tap the Maps tab.
2. Tap the overlay button.
3. Tap Land.
4. Select Slope Angle or Slope Aspect.

Slope Angle

Slope Angle provides the incline of any given slope and is a critical aspect when evaluating avalanche danger in the backcountry.

Slope Angle data comes from Digital Elevation Models (DEM), which are digital representations of the height of the Earth’s surface at any given location. The DEM in OpenSnow has a resolution of 30 meters for the entire globe, with the following resolution for popular ski regions:

• United States: 1-10 meters
• Canada: 2 meters
• Japan: 1-10 meters
• Austria: 1 meter
• France: 2 meters
• Italy: 2-10 meters
• Norway: 1 meter
• Switzerland: 2 meters

Slope Angle can be viewed in two ways:

1. All Terrain
2. Avalanche Terrain

Slope Angle > All Terrain Legend

• Green: slope is less than 20°
• Yellow: 20° to 30°
• Orange: 30° to 35°
• Red: 35° to 45°
• Purple: 50° to 55°
• Blue: slope is greater than 55°

Switching into the Avalanche Terrain view via the toggle on the map will highlight slope angles at 30° and higher, which is where most avalanches start.

Slope Angle > Avalanche Terrain Legend

• Orange: slope is 30° to 35°
• Red: 35° to 45°
• Purple: 45° to 55°
• Blue: slope is greater than 55°

"Most slab avalanches initiate on slopes where the steepest slope angle is between 30° and 50° (about the steepness of a black diamond run at a ski hill) and subsequently run into lower angled terrain. Avalanches initiating on slopes less than 30 degrees are rare because the incline is so flat. Slopes steeper than 50 degrees are so steep that small loose avalanches run frequently so they only rarely develop the structure for larger slab avalanches." – Avalanche.org

View → Slope Angle

Slope Aspect

Slope Aspect details the direction at which the terrain is facing and can be important for planning around sun exposure on the snow surface.

For example:

• If the terrain is south-facing, it will be highlighted in red.
• If the terrain is north-facing, it will be highlighted in blue.

Slope Aspect Legend

• Blue: North
• Darker Green: Northeast
• Lighter Green/Yellow: East
• Orange: Southeast
• Red: South
• Pink: Southwest
• Purple: West
• Dark Blue: Northwest
• Light Blue: North

View → Slope Aspect

Known Limitations

Slope Angle and Slope Aspect are critically important for evaluating the avalanche risk, though they should never be used in isolation for assessing the current avalanche danger. Get educated with the proper avalanche safety protocols, always check the latest avalanche and weather forecast, and be responsible for your safety and others in the backcountry.

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Questions? Send an email to [email protected] and we'll respond within 24 hours. You can also visit our Support Center to view more frequently asked questions and feature guides.

Sam Collentine