First, you started following skin tracks and ski tracks on these heavily traveled areas. Then, you found some more novel skin tracks which you followed to see where they went, and found some fresh goodness along the way. But your desire to explore continued to grow. So, you bought a guidebook and skied all the routes of interest in it.
But then you wanted more. You wanted to go where no one you know has skied before. Frank and I have been exploring new destinations in the backcountry for years, within Colorado, many of the US mountain states, and even Canada. However, while exploring routes to write up for our backcountry skiing guidebook , we found ourselves thrown into terrain that we are completely unfamiliar with more often than not. To accommodate this, we developed some navigational techniques which we continue to use, even past our guidebook research.
How do we do it? So, here it is. You can also search for places if you wish to review a place that is far from your current location. You can search using geographic names ex. To begin recording your track, simply press the plus button with a circle around it, shown above.
That will open a menu that will prompt you to begin recording. The app is full of different base map choices. These are some that are available:. If you upgrade to the Gaia GPS Premium, you have additional layer capabilities layers you can put on top of the base map as well as a host of other features.
I am particularly fond of the slope shading layer, which tells you how steep a slope is — a huge asset when traveling in avalanche terrain. The slope shading layer is very similar to that used by CalTopo, further explained below. On Gaia GPS, the slope shading is available as a base map for the regular version, but this is difficult to use as it makes little sense without the topographic features. Most backcountry skiers will prefer this premium membership over the basic.
More info can be found about the features included with each membership option in this article. The answer is yes. To download the map , click on the plus button with the circle around it located at the of the screen. A box will appear on the screen which will allow you to select the area which you wish to download.
Remember, you can always zoom in more when using the actual map. Once your region has been selected, press Save and follow the prompts.
You can even give the map a specific name. You can use your GPS app as it is, and plan as you go. But, it is often better to plan your general routes in advance. You can also plan your route using the Gaia GPS App , but I have found it slightly difficult to deal with — largely because I find it better to have a larger screen to allow for a better view for planning. First, using the slope shading layers can help you choose routes that minimize your exposure to avalanche terrain.
Second, knowing your anticipated distance and elevation gain can help you have a better sense of the time needed for your tour — which is especially essential in spring when wet slides are a very real possibility. Third, it can make your travel more efficient as you will likely do less route finding along the way.
We also recommend having more than one plan in mind — back-up options for if your day or the snow conditions were not as you had hoped. The selection in this menu has no relation to what you choose to download; it is purely informational to tell you what is available to download. Below that are the download and delete buttons. Download will open a menu to select which layers to download for the tiles you have selected. Delete does the same. To download layers for the selected areas, click the download button to open the Download Layers dialog.
Select which layer s to download for your selected tile areas by checking the box next to each layer. Selecting any base layer to download will automatically download elevation data as well.
Use checkboxes to select the layers to download, and the top drop down menu to select the level of resolution. At the top you can select the resolution of the download.
For most recreational uses, standard resolution will be fine and will save a significant amount of space. For detailed route planning, choose high or for imagery, max. Then select the checkboxes next to the layer data source to download.
As you select boxes, watch at the bottom of the box where the text updates to tell you the size of the download. The line below that shows how much free space you have on your device.
After downloading, tiles where you have data for the selected layer in the Show Coverage For downdown menu are highlighted in light blue for standard resolution or purple for high resolution.
The blue highlighted areas now have standard resolution MapBuilder Topo data downloaded to the device. Because map data files can be quite large, some users prefer to store the files on an external hard drive. To do this, you will need to edit your topo.
Add the code sarsoft. Maps that you create and save locally are not automatically synced to the cloud. However, maps that you create online will sync when you sync your account. When it comes to the cool factor, this is up at the top on my list. Because the custom map KMZ file that you created is the free Google Earth format, you can also open it there.
It helps me bring the topographic contours to life. Have an idea on how to make these guides better? Leave me your thoughts here. What is a GPX File? In-Depth Garmin Montana i, i, Review. How To Read a Topographic Map. How to Hike.
Gifts For Hikers —
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