Version dated: 27 October 2026
These Terms and Conditions were originally drafted in German. Any translations into other languages are provided for information purposes only. In the event of any discrepancy, inconsistency, or difference in interpretation, the German version shall prevail.
1. Scope
These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern the use of the topo^alpin web application and mobile app (together, the “Application”), operated by:
Timo Braun Pforzheimer Str. 140 76275 Ettlingen Germany Email: info@topoalpin.app
These Terms govern both the free use of the web application and the use of the mobile app. Paid subscriptions are concluded exclusively via the Apple App Store.
2. Description of Services
topo^alpin is a digital tool for planning mountain tours in the Alpine region. The Application displays weather, map, terrain, and avalanche information obtained from external sources. The operator does not create its own weather forecasts, official avalanche bulletins, or official terrain analyses. Tour-Check is the operator’s own automated, model-based classification based on terrain and avalanche data; its scope and limits are described in section 9. In addition, the Application includes an emergency feature displaying the user’s own location and area-specific emergency numbers.
The specific scope of functions may vary depending on the platform, device, and technical availability. In particular, the web application may be functionally limited compared to the mobile app.
3. Free Use of the Web Application
The web application may be made available free of charge in whole or in part. There is no entitlement to a specific free scope of functions or to permanent free availability.
By using the web application, the user enters into a free-of-charge usage relationship on the basis of these Terms.
4. Paid Use of the Mobile App
The mobile app may be downloaded and used free of charge. Continued use of individual or all functions may require a paid subscription.
Paid subscriptions are concluded exclusively via the Apple App Store. The terms of the relevant store operator apply additionally to the purchase flow, payment processing, and subscription management.
5. Trial Period, Term, and Cancellation
The operator may offer a free trial period for the subscription. The applicable duration of the trial period, as well as the price, term, and billing interval, are determined by the offer displayed in the Apple App Store.
Unless the subscription is cancelled in the Apple App Store no later than the end of the trial period, it will automatically convert into a paid subscription. The subscription will then renew automatically for the period stated in the Apple App Store unless cancelled there in time.
6. Withdrawal, Refunds, and Cancellation via the Apple App Store
Paid subscriptions are concluded exclusively via the Apple App Store. Any withdrawal notices, refund requests, and cancellations must therefore be addressed to Apple in accordance with Apple’s applicable rules. Users may in particular use the subscription management in the Apple App Store and Apple’s “Report a Problem” portal at https://reportaproblem.apple.com. Any statutory rights of withdrawal or cancellation are not limited by these Terms.
7. No Paid Contract via the Website
No paid contracts are currently concluded via the topo^alpin website or web application. In particular, it is not possible to purchase a paid subscription through the website.
8. Data Sources and Third Parties
The Application uses external data sources, in particular weather models, map services, terrain data, avalanche bulletins, measuring networks, and other third-party sources.
The operator has no control over the collection and original provision of these data by third parties, in particular over their accuracy, completeness, availability, timeliness, and update frequency. The operator remains responsible for selecting, retrieving, processing, and displaying the data in the Application.
9. Data Sources and Limits of Tour-Check
The Application obtains weather, map, terrain, navigation, and avalanche data from external sources and processes them automatically. In addition, Tour-Check produces the operator’s own model-based classification.
Weather forecasts may differ significantly from actual conditions. Map, terrain, forest, navigation, and location data may be inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. Official avalanche bulletins describe the regional avalanche situation and do not replace the assessment of individual slopes or specific tour situations.
Tour-Check is derived from the published SLABS model (Degraeuwe et al. 2024) and contains the operator’s own adaptations and product rules. The method has not been independently validated; the route value has not been tested against accident data. Tour-Check is a supplementary aid for tour planning. It is not official avalanche information, not an expert assessment of the route, and not a clearance to undertake it. Its colours and value are neither avalanche danger levels nor statements of the probability of an avalanche accident. In particular:
- A green display or the absence of a flag does not mean that a route or slope is safe.
- Tour-Check does not cover avalanches released from starting zones further up, nor catchment and runout areas; exposure from there may go unrecognised.
- The classification is based on the avalanche bulletins named with the result and their validity; it does not apply to any other time of the tour. Each section is assessed with the bulletin of its own region; near a region boundary, the weighted mean of the values obtained under the bulletins of the adjoining regions counts. A section without a valid bulletin of its own or of a neighbouring region is assessed with the most severe bulletin of the route; this bulletin is also named with the result. The official bulletins and their region boundaries are not affected.
- Local observations such as wind-drifted snow, recent avalanches, and other warning signs are not taken into account.
- The method was developed for ski tours; it has not been separately tested for snowshoe tours.
The official avalanche information valid for the tour area and the time of the tour, and the conditions on the ground, must be checked independently. The method is described in the methodology paper at https://topoalpin.app/docs/tour-check-methodik.pdf.
Statutory rights in respect of defects remain unaffected. Liability is governed by section 12.
10. Emergency Feature
The Application includes an emergency feature that displays the location determined by the device in several coordinate formats, together with the emergency numbers stored for the respective area, and that can initiate dialling them via the device’s telephone function. Where a network connection is available, a nearby named terrain feature from third-party map data is also shown (a summit, hut or pass, with distance and direction). This is supplementary to the coordinates and may be absent or imprecise.
The operator does not place emergency calls, does not establish a connection to a control room, and does not transmit location or other data to rescue organisations. The Application is not an emergency service and is no substitute for an emergency call placed via the official emergency numbers, for emergency devices with satellite connectivity, or for the emergency features of the device and its operating system.
Displaying a location requires the device to be able to determine a position. Availability and accuracy depend in particular on reception, satellite visibility, weather, terrain, battery state, and device settings, and may fail entirely.
The stored emergency numbers and their assignment to areas are maintained to the best of the operator’s knowledge. Responsibilities, numbers, and the organisational structures of rescue services may change. The assignment is based on simplified boundaries and may, particularly close to a border, deviate from the area actually responsible. Despite careful maintenance, stored numbers or area assignments may be incorrect or out of date. In case of doubt, the European emergency number 112 should be dialled.
11. No Availability Guarantee
The operator endeavours to keep the Application available with as few interruptions as possible but does not promise uninterrupted availability. Maintenance work, technical issues, failure of external services, or force majeure may temporarily restrict availability. Statutory rights in respect of defects remain unaffected.
12. Limitation of Liability
The operator shall be liable without limitation in cases of intent or gross negligence and for culpably caused damages arising from injury to life, body, or health.
For other damages, in cases of slight negligence the operator shall only be liable for breaches of essential contractual obligations. Essential obligations are those whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose observance the user may regularly rely. In such case, liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract.
Mandatory statutory liability, in particular under product liability law, remains unaffected. Statutory rights in respect of defects are not excluded by this provision.
13. Personal Alpine Responsibility
Use of topo^alpin does not replace the user’s own assessment of conditions on site.
Mountain tours and other alpine activities involve significant risks and require experience, appropriate equipment, and an independent assessment of weather, snow, terrain, and avalanche conditions. The Application is only a supplementary planning tool.
14. User Obligations
Users undertake:
- to use the Application only in compliance with applicable law and these Terms,
- not to perform automated access such as bots, scrapers, or crawlers,
- not to take any action that may impair the functionality or availability of the Application,
- not to circumvent technical protection measures of the Application.
In the event of a violation, the operator may restrict access insofar as this is appropriate to the nature and severity of the violation. Temporary measures are permitted to avert an acute impairment of the Application. A permanent block requires a serious violation or one repeated despite a warning.
15. Copyright
The Application, its content, and its structure are protected by copyright insofar as third-party rights or open-source/data licences do not provide otherwise.
16. Privacy
Information on the processing of personal data can be found in the Privacy Policy.
17. Amendments to these Terms
The operator reserves the right to amend these Terms with effect for the future if there is a valid reason for doing so, in particular changes in the law, the scope of services, or the technical framework.
The current version is available on the website or within the Application.
18. Consumer Dispute Resolution
The operator is neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.
19. Final Provisions
The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Mandatory consumer protection provisions of the state in which the user has their habitual residence remain unaffected.
Should any provision of these Terms be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.