Be Awesome. Don’t Die.  

Avalanche Safety Made Simple

"AspectAvy helps manage the uncertainty…It makes your choices so much easier so we can concentrate on the quality of tour. It reduces that cognitive overload… It just makes the decision making much easier to just like ‘yep, that’s NO GO.’ ”

-Angela Hawse, American Mountain Guides Association,
former President & Instructor Team

“For backcountry riders, the consequences of a single decision can mean that they do not return home alive.  As a backcountry skier, I am thrilled to work with AspectAvy and to incorporate their data, their checklists and their well-timed reminders to ensure that I am making a no-regrets decision.”

-Joel Gratz, OpenSnow.com Founder + Meteorologist

AspectAvy took the “Human Factor” out of it.  I’ve never toured here before and the app made it really simple.  You can see what was gonna be safe and see where the runs were.  It was super easy.

-Mike Hattrup, former Director of Snow & Aavlanche at Black Diamond Equipment, AMGA Ski Guide, Ski Movie Legend

Why did we do it?

Let’s be honest, we’ve all felt frustrated by the complexity of the avalanche forecast, uncertain where to ride, even after we’ve taken avalanche courses, and scared we’ll die in an avalanche

We Hear you.  We Know you.  We Got you.

I’m Jeff Banks, an internationally certified mountain guide, avalanche survivor and educator for over 20years.

I’ve lost 13 friends and colleagues to avalanches.

My life’s work:  How do we do risky things in the mountains the safest way possible?  

We created AspectAvy so our backcountry community can enjoy long and adventurous lives.

The problem:

  • Avalanche safety has always been about Reactive Avalanche Gear that digs you out of avalanches once you’re already buried.

  • All the other backcountry apps have fixed slope shading. That means it looks the same in June as in January.

  • Roughly 95% of the people in Avalanche terrain don’t have avy training!

  • There were nearly 1,000 reported human triggered avalanches in CO alone last year

  • Think the problem is only for newbies? Even mountain professionals report being avalanched around two times each winter… and they’re the super experts! 

The Solution: Aspect Avy.

  • We built Aspect Avy to solve the problem we’ve struggled with ourselves for decades.  

  • Other app’s CEO’s are from Amazon and the corporate world.  Ours is a mountain guide who trains U.S. Special Forces, Mountain Guides and people like you in avalanche safety. They have customers -We have community members

  • Aspect Avy is 100% funded by that community. 

  • Aspect Avy is the first Preventive Avalanche Safety Tool designed to keep you out of avalanches in the first place, not just rescue you once you’ve already been caught.     

  • Aspect Avy’s Adaptive Slope Shading (ASS) changes with the forecast and you can update it live with your observations in the field, even when you’re offline.

  • Aspect Avy is like a virtual coach, helping you through your tour. It’s like having a mountain guide in your pocket.

Beta testing in Iceland

We’re on a mission to save lives from avalanches… and help everyone enjoy the backcountry safely.

Here’s what people are saying about AspectAvy

“We finally have a tool that moves away from the classic “Reactionary Tools” like Beacon, Shovel, Probe -that are used only after you have an accident- to something that can help you prevent an accident by allowing users to choose terrain safely based on the current conditions and the Avalanche problem. This is a tool that almost every skier should have in their toolbox.”

-Larry Goldie, IFMGA/AMGA Guide and Instructor Team
Member,  Director of Snow Safety at North Cascades Heli

“The backcountry community needs visionaries and ambition. That’s why Beacon is excited to partner with Aspect Avy, who, at long last, is working solve a problem that needs solving”

-Andy Sovick, Beacon Guidebooks, #1 Publisher in USA of Ski Terrain Atlases + Ski Maps, CBAC Board Member

I’m an Internationally Licensed Mountain Guide and the owner of Pikes Peak Alpine School.  I field tested AspectAvy last winter with the Special Forces Mountain Guide Team, and the value was clear: AspectAvy makes it easier for my Avalanche students to stay alive. That’s why we’re using it for our avalanche courses & I’m investing in AspectAvy.

-Pete Lardy IFMGA/AMGA  Mountain Guide

“Riders new to the backcountry seem to understand they need a Level 1 Avy course before heading out. But then what? People need a follow up, a script, a program to follow and get feedback. Aspect Avy does that. It gives backcountry users a map to follow to safety.”

-Steve Banks, IFMGA/AMGA Mountain Guide,  Board Member of the AMGA & Crested Butte Avalanche Center, former Forecaster Director of the CBAC, Lead Guide viking Heli Ski

Testimonials from Mountain Guides + Public