School of Mines staff member creates avalanche safety app just in time for snow season

The curriculum at the Colorado School of Mines isn't easy, and students deserve a break. That's part of what drives the university's outdoor recreation program.

"That's why we exist. We want to provide opportunities for students to get out and try new things outside, to perfect their skills, or even to advance skills that they already have," Austin Dyer said.

Dyer is the university's director of outdoor recreation. There, students can rent low-cost outdoor equipment for all four seasons.

He's also developed an app to help people stay safe in the mountains.

"When we spend all day staring at studies or at homework or work, it's hard for us to maintain conversations with our friends to feel motivated to even be active or to be social, and I think getting outside is one of those ways that forces us to kind of step away from the digitization of our world, which is ironic that I now have developed this application that connects us back to the digital world," Dyer said.

The app is called SoGnar Snow. It's part avalanche forecaster, with data across all of North America. You can drop a pin right where you want to go, zoom in and pull up the danger forecast for that zone.

It's also part crew-organizer a spot where you can make sure you and your group have the same goal, objective, pace, skills and gear.

And it's part gaming device, teaching avalanche safety with seven interactive games.

Denver7 Chief Meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo said those skills may be important this winter.

"Things are stacking up to be a pretty impressive season for us when it comes to snowfall, especially up and through the mountains," Hidalgo said.

El Nio could bring a lot of snow into the mountains and, potentially, higher avalanche risk.

"When we get a lot of snow. You're stacking up a lot of it, and potentially it's going to be on those western-facing slopes. And then, depending on winds and on temperature and a lot of different factors when it comes to that, we can get some some pretty loose shelves on those mountains. So, we do see the potential for some some bigger avalanches," Hidalgo said.

If you're going to hit the back country this winter, make sure you know how to stay safe.

"The more time you've spent with those materials, with the processes, with the steps of rescue, the more likely those are going to be innate when your blood is rushing and your buddy is hurt or buried and you can't find them," Dyer said.

And now, there may be a new way to refresh your safety skills.

"The end goal of this is to keep people safer, their friends safer, and our backcountry community within Colorado safer," Dyer said.

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