Introducing the Backcountry Checklist App
In a Nutshell
Backcountrychecklist.com is a new web app that allows you to work through a quick checklist before you go backcountry skiing, and share your plans with your emergency contact. It’s free to use, it was made by skiers for skiers, and it has modes for skiing, splitboarding, and snowmobiling.
You should check it out here, and if you like it, tell your friends about it!
The Backstory
A few years back, when I was freelancing for our sister website, newschoolers.com, I put together a simple backcountry checklist and started giving away the print file online. Every year since then, I’ve updated it, cleaned it up, done my best to make it more useful. There’s been a nagging voice in the back of my mind this whole time though. The voice says, “This would be better if you could do it with your phone, instead of having to print it out and laminate it and find a dry erase marker.”
So, finally, last year, I did something about it. When I posted the latest version of the paper checklist, I threw out the call on Instagram, looking for someone who knew how to touch the internet. Kellen Busby answered that call. He’s a full stack developer, and an avid backcountry skier. Together, we worked to translate that original checklist I drew into an easy-to-use, practical product that we hope all sorts of skiers, snowboarders, and snowmobilers will find valuable.
The paper checklist is still available here, and the digital version can be found here.
How to Use It
Just visit the URL on your phone or desktop computer. You can also add a shortcut to the website by hitting the “share” arrow. That lets you organize it with any other backcountry apps.
To use the checklist portion, just scroll through, tapping each item that you’re sure you’ve got packed. Then, the app will prompt you with a few questions that we’ve found are important to ask before you head out. Answer those however you want, and the app will prompt you to check your local avalanche forecast, with a map from Avalanche.org. From there, fill out the emergency contact portion of the form. When you’re finished, you can share a .png image of your checklist, complete with your touring plan, to a friend or loved one, so that if something does go wrong, they have all the information they need to alert first responders.
Why We Think It’s Useful
My initial backcountry checklist was born out of two experiences, one on each side of a Search and Rescue situation. The first actually occurred in the summer. Some friends and I became lost in a cave and ended up having to spend the night there, which triggered our emergency contact calling Search and Rescue. We hadn’t filled out any kind of checklist, but my friend’s wife had watched us pack and was able to give SAR a detailed rundown of everything that we had with us, including plenty of food and water, and gear to bivy with. With that information, SAR decided not to try and help us until the following morning. That gave us time to self rescue, and meant that SAR did not have to undergo the strenuous journey through the cave looking for us. Because someone knew we had gear and were prepared, SAR resources didn’t have to be expended, which we and the SAR team were thankful for.
The other experience came out of several SAR missions where I was working on our local team. Often the first moments after a person is reported missing are chaotic, and it’s hard to paint an accurate picture of where they are, or what went wrong. When the reporting party has detailed, specific information about your plans for the day, it sets first responders up to be much more effective. The most famous example of a breakdown in this communication is probably the 127 Hours story, but so many rescues have smaller versions of the same drama occur.
A note left on the kitchen counter is good, but a detailed message complete with trailheads, estimated times and objectives is so much better. Kellen built the app to export an image which you can share really easily from your phone.
Ideally this app does two things: it prompts backcountry users to make sure they have the gear and information they need to stay safe, and it makes it easier for them to share their plans with their emergency contacts.
FAQs
If you have other specific questions feel free to reach out here.
Why doesn’t it have whatever piece of gear I always bring that you guys didn’t include?
This was actually something we put a lot of thought into. We capped each activity at what we think is a reasonable amount of gear, and made sure to include the gear that gets forgotten the most. Yes, there are plenty of things that we left off that are very useful in the backcountry. For now, consider this checklist a reminder, a nudge to think through what’s in your pack, and make sure you have everything you need. Down the road, we’d love to build the functionality to allow you to customize your checklist with all the gear you carry, but for now, use your imagination!
Why does it only cater to backcountry skiers, splitboarders, and snowmobilers?
Because those are the user groups we most participate in, and the ones that we think will find this checklist the most useful. If you’re snowshoeing or fat biking, it’s pretty easy to use one of the disciplines we included, and just swap out gear in your head. Down the road, we’d love to make checklists for more sports, but for now, graph paper and a pen are affordable tools to make your own!
Are you stealing our information and using microchips to blow up all our secret stashes?
Nah, we’re not that fancy. All data is completely anonymous, and we don’t store any of it. The only people who see your completed checklist and your plans for the day are you, and anyone you share it with. There’s no big database peeling through your responses, figuring out which stashes we should go track out.
How are you guys making money on this?
We’re not. We donated our time and the cost of the domain name. We’re both dedicated backcountry skiers, and this project is something we wanted to see in the world and use ourselves. So we made it. It’s really that simple. If you like the checklist, you can throw us a couple bucks here, but no pressure!
If you represent a brand that’s interested in sponsoring the checklist, our email is always open!
I hate phones and like things made out of dead trees!
I know the feeling. If you want to keep using the paper checklist, it’s still available here. Download it, laminate it, go skiing.
Why does it say "beacon" instead of transceiver?
Two reasons (and a petty third):
1) The word beacon is shorter and fits in the word slot across all platforms much better.
2) If you don't know that "beacon" and "transceiver" are used interchangeably, and that they both mean "a tool to make you searchable, and help you search for others in the backcountry" maybe you don't have the minimum level of education required for safe backcountry travel.
3) A few years ago a prominent organization took it upon themselves to download this checklist, do a bad job of photoshopping "beacon" to "transceiver" and then post it on their page without credit, as their own work. If reasons one and two weren't enough, reason three ensured that we stick to beacon for the time being.
Why the poop joke?
Pooping is no joke! Wouldn’t you rather do it in your nice warm house than have to figure out how to clean up the evidence in some icy parking lot?
Any plans for the future?
For now, we’re going skiing! But yes, we’ve got lots of tweaks and improvements we’d love to make to the checklist. If you want to get emails about updates, you can sign up here.
