A New App That Directs You To The Deepest Powder

Snow is finally falling in the Rockies and on the West Coast, and snow-starved skiers and snowboarder are chasing untracked lines like hunters searching for deer.

Now, a new free app makes the hunt easier.

Freshy Map, in beta, tells you which resorts and backcountry areas are likely to have fresh tracks now. Designed by two skiing-obsessed software engineers/meteorologists/data analysts, the Web site goes beyond the usual resort snow report. Rather than documenting the snow that fell last night and/or providing a weather map that tells you how much snow there will be tomorrow, Freshy Map provides hourly updates by analyzing resort snowfall reports, avy center data, weather mapping, Snowtel readings (giant pillow-like snow sensors scattered throughout the Rockies), roads and highways data, and webcams feeds. You can browse the map for the biggest dump, or indicate the resorts or backcountry areas you're most interested in, and ask the system to notify you when you need to buckle your boots and go.

But Freshy Map doesn't stop there. The app uses a formula that factors in when the snow fell (overnight on a Sunday, which means it'll still be fresh Monday morning versus mid day on a Saturday, which means it's already likely skied off) and gives you a Freshy Factor rating. That way you can decide if Monarch, Crested Butte, or Copper is more likely to still have powder by the time you get there. And, when the full version launches, that Freshy Factor will take into account your own definition of a a powder day, whether it's six inches of fresh or six feet.

The app is slated for full launch in the next week or two. When it's out of beta, it'll include all resorts in the Rockies and the Western US and a handful of backcountry areas like Colorado's Cameron Pass, Rabbit Ears Pass, and Rocky Mountain National Park.

The developers aren't in a huge rush to add the snow-free East Coast before launch, but select resorts will start to go live this spring as well. Next season, look for Canada and Europe.

The beta version doesn't let you customize your report—that feature will be added later this week, and the team continues to tweak the app's interface each evening. So, if finding freshies is your thing, get online and give them feedback. Here's the best part, it's free!, freshymap.com

-Berne Broudy
@berneb