For the winter season 2025 in New Zealand we’ve launched our services with som great coverage with basemap, map layers and ski touring descriptions.
New Zealand Topo Map
It seems the Kiwis, like most other people have a prefernce for ther national topographic maps. We’ve added the Topo50 map from LINZ, which gives you a great impression of the topography and all the natural formations like volcanos, hotsprings and contour lines. Tap on the legend to the right to get the whole description of the features in the NZ Topp50.
New Zealand ATES
In New Zealand a ATES map is published by the Department of Conservation. This covers ost areas where ski touring and winter alpinism is posible. It uses the ATES version one with 3 terrain classifications.
| Description | # | Terrain criteria |
| Simple | 1 | Exposure to low-angle or primarily forested terrain. Some forest or bush openings may involve the run-out zones of infrequent avalanches. Many options to reduce or eliminate exposure. No glacier travel. |
| Challenging | 2 | Exposure to well-defined avalanche paths, starting zones, or terrain traps; options exist to reduce or eliminate exposure with careful route finding. Glacier travel is straightforward, but crevasse hazards may exist. |
| Complex | 3 | Exposure to multiple, overlapping avalanche paths or large expanses of steep, open terrain; multiple avalanche starting zones and terrain traps below; minimal options to reduce exposure. Complicated glacier travel with extensive crevasse bands or icefalls. |
Read more about the NZ Ates adoption at the NZ Avalanche Advisory.
Slope
To help you identify the avalanche release areas (above 30 degrees) we’ve analyzed the LINZ 8M digital elevation model and put it all togehter in a neat overlay with gradients highlighting the terrain from 28-30-35-40-45-50-90 degrees. This way you can navigate safely outside release areas.
| Slope | Release area | Colour coding |
| 28° – 30° | Avalanches may be released in these areas, but it requires certain conditions. | #267300 |
| 30° – 35° | Avalanche release area | #FFFF00 |
| 35° – 40° | Avalanche release area | #FFAA00 |
| 40° – 45° | Avalanche release area | #FF5500 |
| 45° – 50° | Avalanche release area | #FF0000 |
| 50° – 90° | Avalanche release area | #730000 |
Ski tours
At the moment, our selection of ski touring routes is somewhat limited. We’re actively working on expanding it, but we rely on local knowledge and experience. If you have tour suggestions, please let us know via this form: Tour suggestions.
All routes available in Skida are either contributed by users—then reviewed through our internal QA process, which includes both automated analysis and manual adjustments—or provided by certified guides and mountain professionals. Every route is digitally analyzed for factors like slope angle, aspect, and steepness, and is classified with an alpine grade.
Our grading is primarily based on the steepest sections of each route, using an 8-meter resolution topographic model. This means small-scale terrain features (micro terrain) are not reflected. As such, we always recommend ascending along the same line you plan to ski down, and making your own assessments as conditions evolve during your tour.
Alpine grade system
| Alpine grade | Degrees | Color code |
| F (Easy) | 0–29 | #00B050 |
| PD (Less Difficult) | 30–34 | #0070C0 |
| AD (Quite Difficult) | 35–39 | #FF0000 |
| D (Difficult) | 40–44 | #000000 |
| TD (Very Difficult) | 45–49 | #000000 |
| ED (Extremely Difficult) | 50–54 | #000000 |
| EX (Beyond Extremely Difficult) | 55+ | #000000 |