Backcountry skiing and touring has become more popular in Bulgaria in the past decade. Unfortunately, the rise in popularity of these activities has also been accompanied by avalanche accidents. In addition, there is no official avalanche center that issues regular avalanche bulletins for the Bulgarian mountains, and therefore backcountry ski tourers and hikers need to rely mostly on their own judgement. Avalanche terrain mapping using the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES) helps recreationists and professionals make informed decisions on how to navigate safely in avalanche terrain. We have developed procedures to create ATES maps for three pilot regions in the Bulgarian mountains – the region around Bansko Ski Resort in the Pirin Mountains and the Rila Lakes - Skakavitsa and Malyovitsa regions in the Rila Mountains. The ATES models were created using an automated approach combining geographic information systems (GIS) and geospatial technologies and software following the AutoATES v2.0 model. Keywords: ATES maps, avalanches, Bulgaria, AutoATES, forest protection
