New Digital Climbing Guide on FATMAP
In episode 5 of the podcast, I interviewed Misha Gopaul, co-founder of the 3D mapping platform FATMAP. The platform aims to provide high-quality guidebook entries with 3D visualizations of routes and terrain. To test the community-based features of the platform, I created a virtual guidebook for the classic (and theoretically easiest) routes to the summits of the five Washington volcanoes. View the guidebook here:
With the exception of Glacier Peak (which I have yet to climb), these are all routes that I have personally climbed. Photo credits go to Catrina Kindahl-Ross, my climbing partner on Mount Rainier, Chenmin Liu, my climbing partner on Rainier and Mount Baker, and myself.
The guidebook creation process was a little cumbersome, but I expect it will only improve with time. The guidebook itself is quite attractive due to the smart design choices of the FATMAP development team. One thing I would love would be the option of including annotated waypoints along the route. Using Rainier as an example, I would leave an annotated waypoint marking the location of “the icebox” and putting the warnings about that section of the route into the waypoint. As it stands, that content lives within the description text, requiring you to figure out where I’m talking about.
If you notice any glaring inaccuracies, please use the flag button on the individual routes to submit corrections to FATMAP.
