online slope mapping tool
I've been working on a map overlay that allows you to shade slopes by angle and/or aspect. I think it's a good high-level visualization of potential avalanche starting zones that can assist with safe route planning in unfamiliar terrain. I've listed some known limitations at http://caltopo.blogspot.com/2012/02/...-analysis.html, and it's important to note that while you can do danger-rose-style shading of slopes, avy forecasts are regional and not produced with slope-level accuracy.
This is experimental and I'm looking for feedback on it. click here, then hit the binoculars in the top right to enter a location and the +2 to adjust the slope shading. Here's an example of Shasta, out in my neck of the woods: By Angle By Aspect
http://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/ca...eb/shasta1.jpg
http://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/ca...eb/shasta2.jpg
Notes: The WY base maps are low-res but will be fixed this spring when the USGS finishes scanning new ones. You can also log in and create maps like this, but that's neither here nor there with slope shading. If you're familiar with hillmap.com and like that better, I've been talking with the guy who created it and he's going to pull in the slope shading as well. Shading may be a little slow to load but I'm working on the performance issues.