Backcountry info, via text message.
Official NWS weather, CBAC and CAIC avalanche danger, SNOTEL snowpack, fire danger, smoke and air quality, delivered as a plain text to any phone or Garmin inReach. Name a peak, a pass, a town, or send your coordinates.
By texting this number, you agree to receive SMS responses from OneBar (formerly GPTmySMS). You'll receive an initial welcome message with full terms. Reply STOP anytime to cancel. Message and data rates may apply.
Avalanche reply is a winter example. Text SKILLS for the full list.
A morning at the trailhead
Keyword lookups return official data as published. Everything else goes to the assistant. Replies are plain text, sized for a couple of SMS segments.
Example conversation
WX Purple Mountain, CO
6:02 AM
NWS Purple Mountain, Gunnison Co, CO (38.992,-107.103) 10997ft Today: Sl Chc Shwrs/Tstorms, hi 69, NNW5, 18% Tonight: Ptly Cldy, lo 42, WSW5, 16% Sat: Ptly Sun then Sl Chc Shwrs/Tstorms, hi 58, SW0-10, 11% Sat Nt: Mstly Cldy, lo 44, E5, 5% Text WX7/WXH/WXZ 38.992,-107.103 for 7-day/hourly/zone
6:02 AM
AVY Schofield Pass
6:03 AM
Schofield Pass, Gunnison Co, CO (39.015,-107.047) is in: CBAC Northwest Mountains avalanche fcst (issued 1/14) Danger ATL/NTL/BTL: 3 Considerable / 3 Considerable / 2 Moderate Problems: Persistent Slab, Wind Slab Human-triggered avalanches are likely on wind-loaded slopes near and above treeline... https://cbavalanchecenter.org/forecasts/#/northwest-mountains
6:03 AM
FIRE Ouray
6:04 AM
Fire danger at Ouray, Ouray Co, CO (38.023,-107.671) - High Elevation (Montrose dispatch): HIGH ERC 74%ile, BI 64%ile, wind 7 NE, min RH 32% Watchout thresholds met: 0/7 Outlook (Sep) 4:H 5:H 6:H 7:H 8:H 9:H 10:H [L/M/H/VH/EX] Updated 9/4/2026 03:11. bewildfireaware.com - verify burn restrictions locally.
6:04 AM
How much water for 8 miles and 2500 ft of gain at 11,000 ft, mid 60s and sunny?
6:06 AM
Plan on about 3 liters for that day: roughly 0.5 L per hour over 5-6 hours, plus a margin for altitude, which dries you out faster than the temperature suggests. Carry a filter if the route crosses creeks and you can drop to 2 L on your back. Drink early; thirst lags at elevation.
6:06 AM
Avalanche reply shown is a winter example; centers publish daily forecasts roughly November through April.
Backcountry skills
Text SKILLS any time for this list. Each lookup costs one credit and returns the official data directly.
Weather (NOAA / National Weather Service)
Source: api.weather.gov
WX- Point forecast for the next ~36 hours, plus a flag if any warning is active there
WX7- 7-day outlook: highs/lows, conditions, precip chance
WXH- Hourly for the next 12 hours: temp, wind, precip chance
WXZ- The NWS zone ("regional") forecast text, e.g. West Elk and Sawatch Mountains
ALERTS- Active watches, warnings and advisories: flood, red flag, winter storm, heat
Try: WX7 Lake City
Avalanche (CBAC and CAIC)
Source: avalanche.org / Crested Butte Avalanche Center / Colorado Avalanche Information Center
AVY <place or lat,lon>- Danger rating by elevation band, avalanche problems, and the bottom line for the zone containing that point
AVY CBAC- Every Crested Butte zone at a glance
AVY CAIC- Every Colorado zone at a glance
AVY <zone name>- e.g. AVY Northwest Mountains, AVY Elk Mountains
Try: AVY Schofield Pass
Snowpack and snowfall (SNOTEL and NWS)
Source: USDA NRCS SNOTEL network / NWS forecast grid
SNOW <place or lat,lon>- Nearest SNOTEL station: snow depth with 24h and 72h change, snow water equivalent and percent of median, current and 24h high/low temps
SNOW <station>- A station by name, e.g. SNOW Butte, SNOW Park Cone, SNOW Slumgullion
SNOWFC <place or lat,lon>- NWS 72-hour snowfall by day/night period with wind gusts, snow level and total liquid
Try: SNOWFC Schofield Pass
Fire danger, wildfires and smoke
Source: bewildfireaware.com (NFDRS / FEMS), EPA Fire and Smoke Map (PurpleAir, AirNow, NIFC, NOAA HMS)
AQI <place or lat,lon>- Air quality from nearby PurpleAir sensors (EPA-corrected, nearest plus range and median) and the closest official monitor, plus whether a smoke plume is overhead
FIRES <place or lat,lon>- Active wildfires within 50 miles: name, acres, behavior, distance and direction, plus 24h satellite heat detections
FIRE- Gunnison-area rating (Montrose High Elevation area)
FIRE <place or lat,lon>- Rating for the fire danger rating area containing that point, with ERC/BI percentiles, watchout count and a 7-day outlook
FIRE ALL- All nine Western Colorado areas in one message
FIRE <area>- e.g. FIRE Durango Upper, FIRE Uncompahgre
Try: FIRE 38.87,-106.98
Places or coordinates, your choice
Use a town, peak, pass, lake, trailhead or hot spring by name (add the state if it is ambiguous: WX Cottonwood Pass, CO), or send coordinates in any common format:38.87,-106.98,38.87N 106.98W, or Garmin-styleN38 52.2 W106 58.8. Every reply echoes the place it resolved and its coordinates, so you can reuse them.
Forecasts are informational and can be stale or wrong. They are not a substitute for your own judgment, the official forecast centers, or emergency services. For an emergency call 911 or use your device's SOS.
Send just WX. We already know where you are.
Your inReach attaches a position link to every text. OneBar reads it, answers for that spot, and keeps each reply inside one satellite message; longer answers arrive as numbered parts so nothing is cut off. If the phone on your Garmin account already has a OneBar account, the device links itself on its first text and shares the same credits.
Setting to keep on: “Include a link to an online map” under SMS Message Configuration in the Garmin Messenger app.
Made for the places your phone gives up
Hikers, hunters, backpackers, backcountry skiers and sledders in Western Colorado and beyond.
One bar is all you need
SMS gets through where data will not: a ridge with a flicker of signal, a valley town with 2G, a flip phone in the glovebox. No app to install, nothing to update.
Official sources, verbatim
NWS point and zone forecasts, CBAC and CAIC avalanche products, and BeWildfireAware fire danger, fetched live and passed through as published.
Satellite messenger friendly
Devices that can text a phone number, such as Garmin inReach, can send WX or AVY with your coordinates and receive the reply as a message.
Ask anything else
Route questions, gear math, wildlife ID, translating a trailhead sign. Questions that are not a keyword go to Claude or ChatGPT with web search.
Built for tiny messages
Replies are compact ASCII tuned to fit a few SMS segments, with abbreviations you already know from NWS zone forecasts.
No subscription
One credit per lookup or question. Credits never expire, and one balance covers your phone and any linked inReach.
No subscription, pay per lookup
One credit per forecast lookup or AI question. No monthly subscriptions. Credits never expire.
Free Start
Perfect for trying out the service
- ✓5 free credits (one-time)
- ✓All backcountry skills + AI assistant
- ✓1 credit per lookup or question
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Starter Pack
Coming soon - Beta testing
- ✓100 credits ($0.10 each)
- ✓Skills + all AI models included
- ✓No expiration
- ✓Buy more anytime
- ✓SMS purchasing available
Power Pack
Coming soon - Beta testing
- ✓500 credits ($0.09 each)
- ✓Skills + all AI models included
- ✓No expiration
- ✓10% savings vs starter pack
- ✓Priority support
Need bulk credits? Text "BUY" to (855) 767-2111 or contact us for volume discounts.
Mega Pack: 1000 credits for $80 ($0.08 each) - Available via SMS or contact form
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about OneBar
Where does the data come from?
Weather comes from the National Weather Service API (api.weather.gov): point forecasts, hourly forecasts, zone forecasts and active alerts for the exact coordinates you send. Avalanche forecasts come from the Crested Butte Avalanche Center and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center via the National Avalanche Center API. Snowpack comes from the USDA SNOTEL network (NRCS AWDB API) and snowfall forecasts from the raw NWS forecast grid. Fire danger comes from BeWildfireAware.com, which publishes NFDRS ratings for the nine Western Colorado fire danger rating areas, and air quality and active fires from the EPA Fire and Smoke Map data (PurpleAir sensors, AirNow monitors, NIFC incidents). Keyword lookups pass this data through as published.
Does it work from a Garmin inReach or other satellite messenger?
Yes, and it is built for it. First, in the Garmin Messenger or Explore app open Settings > SMS Message Configuration and make sure "Include a link to an online map with the location of my message" is checked (it is on by default). That link is how we know where you are, so a bare "WX", "AVY", "SNOW" or "FIRES" from the device answers for your current position, and it is how we recognise you: Garmin includes your phone number in it, so if that phone already has a OneBar account the device is linked automatically on its first text and shares the account's credits. No phone account? Text SIGNUP WELCOME from the device instead. Because Garmin rotates the number your device sends from, a linked device keeps working across trips without any re-signup. Satellite replies can take a few minutes and count against your Garmin message plan, so replies are kept compact: each part fits in one satellite message and longer answers arrive as numbered parts.
How do I add credits for an inReach that has no phone account?
Create a normal account with your phone (text SIGNUP WELCOME), buy credits there, then link the device: text LINK from your phone to get a 6-digit code, and text LINK followed by that code from the inReach. From then on both share one balance. If the inReach link setting is on, this usually happens automatically the first time the device texts us.
Can I use place names, or only coordinates?
Either. Towns, peaks, passes, lakes, trailheads and hot springs all work ("WX Purple Mountain, CO", "AVY Schofield Pass", "FIRE Ouray"). Add the state if a name exists in several places. Coordinates work in decimal (38.87,-106.98), N/W (38.87N 106.98W) or Garmin degrees-minutes (N38 52.2 W106 58.8). Every reply shows the place it resolved and its coordinates.
Is this a replacement for checking the official forecast?
No. It is the official forecast, delivered by SMS, but data can be delayed or unavailable and avalanche centers only publish daily forecasts in season (roughly November through April). Read the full products when you can, make your own decisions in the field, and use 911 or your device's SOS in an emergency.
What about questions that are not a keyword?
Anything else you text goes to an AI assistant (Anthropic's Claude or OpenAI's ChatGPT) that can also call the same weather, avalanche and fire tools and search the web. Ask about a route, a plant, a conversion, or a translation and you get a plain-text answer. The assistant remembers the last 10 messages for two hours.
What happens when I run out of credits?
During the beta, text REFILL followed by the beta code from the out-of-credits message and you get more credits on the spot, as long as you are down to 2 or fewer. After the first refill we ask for one thing in return: a quick FEEDBACK note (text FEEDBACK and what you would change) before the next one. Refills are limited per month and in total; credit packs are coming soon.
How much does it cost?
One credit per lookup or question. New users get 5 free credits; credit packs are 100 for $10, 500 for $45 or 1000 for $80, and credits never expire. There is no subscription. Standard SMS rates from your carrier apply.
Which areas are covered?
Weather and alerts cover the whole United States. Avalanche forecasts cover Colorado (CBAC for the Crested Butte area, CAIC statewide). Fire danger covers the Western Colorado dispatch areas: Montrose, Grand Junction and Durango. The phone number is a US toll-free number, so texting works from US and Canadian phones.
Is my data private?
Conversations are not permanently stored and are deleted automatically after 24 hours. We keep only the metadata needed for billing. Coordinates you send are used for the lookup and are not shared.
Still have questions?
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