Safety disclaimer

Last updated August 1, 2026

Backcountry travel, climbing, paddling, skiing, and every other activity Divide helps you plan are inherently dangerous. People are seriously injured and killed doing these things every year, including experienced people on well-planned trips. No itinerary changes that.

Divide is a planning tool, not a guide

Divide — both the software and the bespoke planning service — provides planning information: routes, schedules, permit logistics, and weather summaries drawn from third-party sources. It is not professional guiding, instruction, or a substitute for your own judgment, skills, and preparation. We are not certified guides, and nothing Divide produces is a representation that a route is safe, current, or within your ability.

Conditions change

Weather forecasts are forecasts. Trails wash out, rivers rise, snow lingers, fires close roads, agencies change permit rules mid-season. Information in an itinerary can be wrong or stale by the time you read it. Verify current conditions, closures, and regulations with land managers and official sources before and during your trip.

Your responsibilities

• Honestly assess your party's fitness, skills, and experience against the plan.
• Carry appropriate gear, navigation, and communication equipment, and know how to use them.
• Check official weather, avalanche, fire, and water sources before you go.
• Tell someone reliable where you're going and when you'll be back.
• Turn around when conditions or your gut say to. The itinerary is not in charge — you are.

Assumption of risk and limitation of liability

By using Divide, you acknowledge these risks and agree that you use the information at your own risk. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Divide and Malcolm McSwain are not liable for any injury, death, loss, or damage arising from your use of the service or from decisions made on a trip, whether planned through the tool or the bespoke service. See the Terms of Service for the full limitation of liability.