A new breakthrough in snow safety equipment has arrived. AvaTech is set to unveil its brand new products—the SP1 and AvaNet Cloud Platform—at the International Snow Science Workshop on September 29 in Banff, Alberta. The first device, the SP1, analyzes snowpack structure, slope angle and aspect direction; then, it geo-tags the data and uploads it to the AvaNet Cloud Platform in mere seconds, allowing snow enthusiasts (backcountry skiers included) to share data with others around the world in real time.

The SP1 is constructed with a collapsible 150 centimeter probe (for data collection and snow study) that easily collapses into your pack. The entire device weighs a mere one pound.

While these products intend to increase the amount of data snow safety professionals and snow sport enthusiasts can share with each other, it still must be noted that nothing replaces backcountry education and preparation.

Preorder information can be found via AvaTech.com.

Introducing AvaTech.

Press Release, AvaTech:

Park City, Utah: AvaTech, a new technology company focused on developing breakthrough, proactive snow safety solutions, will unveil its first products, the SP1 and the AvaNet™ cloud platform, during the International Snow Science Workshop later this month. Snow professionals can pre-order from AvaTech at www.AvaTech.com now.

“The SP1 is the result of over two years of rigorous design, technology development and testing,” explains Brint Markle, co-founder and CEO of AvaTech. “The SP1 is designed to help professionals understand the snowpack more quickly, accurately and objectively, and then share that information with the broader mountain community.”

AvaTech’s SP1 device reads snowpack structure, slope angle and aspect in seconds and then geo-tags the data, and uploads it real-time onto the AvaNet platform. AvaNet will dramatically increase the amount of data snow professionals can share and analyze, providing a unique geo-spatial database of crowd-sourced snowpack observations. Snow professionals will be able to gather more information and make better decisions with consistent data powered by this proprietary technology developed while at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Finally, professionals will also be able to rapidly upload their own manual snowpack observations with AvaTech’s Snowpit Editor, which features geo-tagging, photo upload and multiple forms of data visualization.

The SP1 features rugged construction with a collapsible 150 centimeter probe that folds easily into your backpack and weighs approximately one pound. Additionally, the SP1 can be wirelessly synced with a smartphone and AvaTech’s AvaNet cloud platform. Snowpack data can then be shared with a user community with the ability to search, track and discuss SP1 profiles and manual observations anywhere.

“I can’t dig twenty holes in a day, but I can certainly take twenty probe profiles,” states Brian Lazar, deputy director for the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. “So if I have that knowledge and I want to track a weak layer throughout different elevations, across different aspects or over time, I can use the SP1 to confirm the presence or absence of weak layers, which provides a much better understanding of how widespread a particular problem may be.”

AvaTech will unveil its SP1 and AvaNet cloud platform at ISSW in Banff, Canada, from September 29-October 3. ISSW has become the premier avalanche conference in the world. Roughly 1,000 delegates will converge for the 21st annual event to discuss theories, explore innovative concepts and maintain the state-of-the-art practice in the field of avalanche work.

To preorder an AvaTech SP1 for this winter, please visit www.AvaTech.com. Limited-time discounts will be offered to the professional snowsports community through October 6, 2014.

AvaTech is a builder of proactive systems that instantly analyze the snowpack and facilitate real-time sharing of this information in order for individuals and groups to make better decisions in the backcountry. For more information on AvaTech, visit AvaTech.com