Guides
Reading the bulletin, snow layers, gear, where to tour, and what replaced FATMAP.
8 guides shown
Avalanche basics: danger levels, slope angle, the checks
Danger levels, the five things that decide a slope, terrain traps, and what the slope-angle layer does and does not tell you.
FATMAP alternatives: 3D ski maps compared (checked October 2026)
FATMAP was the 3D map many skiers and snowboarders planned their days on until it closed in October 2024. This is what replaces it now: twelve tools compared on 3D, slope angle, avalanche information, offline use and price, with sources and the date we checked.
What happened to FATMAP?
FATMAP was the 3D map many ski tourers and freeriders planned on. Here is what happened to it, with dates and sources: the purchase by Strava, the shutdown, what moved to Strava, and what is left of it now.
How to read an avalanche bulletin
The avalanche bulletin is the one daily source on where avalanches are likely, how big, and on which aspects and elevations. Most skiers glance at the danger number and move on. This guide explains how to read the full bulletin (danger levels, avalanche problems, the danger rose) and turn it into route decisions.
Backcountry gear for ski touring
Transceiver, probe, shovel and airbag, the touring setup, layers, navigation and the emergency kit for ski touring in the Alps, with what to look for in each.
Planning a ski tour, step by step
Choosing terrain, reading the bulletin, planning the route and managing the group, for a first tour on skis or a splitboard.
Snow layers: how the snowpack makes a slab
A slab avalanche needs a weak layer under a cohesive slab; this guide is about the weak layers: how they form, how long they last, and how the bulletin names them.
Ski touring regions in the Alps: terrain, snow, access
Chamonix, Verbier, the Arlberg, the Engadin and the Dolomites: terrain character, snow, access and the months that work, for touring and splitboarding.