App Review: Avalanche Lab
A solid app for avalanche professionals, avalanche forecasters and observers. You can snap a photo, measure the slope angle and aspect, then record a crown profile, all on your phone. As you ski or ride 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.
A very powerful tool for avalanche professionals and those in the field of snow study. I have used the app since spring 2014 to get a jump on profiles while at the trailhead. So far, I love the power of the app and the seemingly endless features.
More information can be found on the publisher’s website: avalanchelab.com
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