While many backcountry skiers might covet steep couloir and alpine faces, I love hunting for those perfect trees – widely spaced, brush free, with silky powder between. My name is Kyle McCrohan and I’m a PNW skier and author of the blog climberkyle.com. My goal is to share a few tools for finding good tree skiing, along with evoking some admiration for the forests we move through.
Skiing deep powder in a nice PNW forest.
Why Ski in the Trees?
Tree skiing offers some very distinct benefits:
Trees provide protection from wind, so the snow is often much less wind effected.
Trees often decrease avalanche danger, by providing anchors for the snowpack.
Trees provide visibility during foggy, low visibility days.
In the stormy PNW, trees are often the most viable terrain option. Learning to ski in the trees, and identify good tree skiing, is a necessary part of backcountry skiing.
NAIP False Color Imagery
My favorite layer for finding tree skiing is CalTopo’s NAIP False Color IR Layer. The “false color” means that the colors are modified to enhance detail. In this case, it makes it easier to see individual trees and other features.
NAIP false color really shows the difference in trees around Snoqualmie Pass.
Not all forests are created equally. In this image, it is extremely easy to see the different types of forests. The old growth has a certain larger texture. The dense new growth (which you want to avoid) is much finer, and has predictable patterns, because it was planted by humans. The less dense second growth looks logged, but you can see the space between trees, indicating better spacing. Open glades also become very obvious.
It might not be immediately obvious to you what type of forest makes for “good” tree skiing – that only comes from experience. But when you go skiing, take notes, and compare them to the imagery in this layer. This will allow you to learn the characteristics of your local forests, and recognize “good trees” from satellite imagery.
On certain northern aspects, the NAIP layer is too shadowed to be useful. In that case, the standardImagery Layer is helpful, although it does not have a False Color IR option.
Custom Terrain Shading
Another helpful CalTopo tool is custom Terrain Shading, which allows you to look for terrain of specific elevation, slope angle, canopy cover, and aspect. To add a custom layer, select “Add” then “Terrain Shading”.
Highlighting a specific type of terrain with custom terrain shading.
On this day, I was looking for very specific terrain. It had snowed two days ago, but the sun came out the day before and warmed the solar aspects. Tree bombs rained down in the tighter forests. Wind had damaged the open alpine slopes. So I was seeking moderate angled, north facing glades (canopy cover 30-70%) above 4,000 ft.
The purple shows the moderate north facing glades above 4,000 ft.
At Peace in the Trees
I’ll be honest – tree skiing is not the sexiest part of backcountry skiing. But it can be really fun, high quality, and adventurous in its own way. And when you find that centuries-old patriarch of the forest, or that sunlit hallway through the trees, it feels special and personal. After all, we are like the woods – a few trees in a forest of humanity.
A golden sunset hallway through the trees.
Author Kyle McCrohan is a member of the CalTopo Educational Ambassador team as well as an avid backcountry skier, climber, and storyteller at climberkyle.com.
https://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.png00Meghanhttps://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.pngMeghan2026-02-24 15:45:012026-02-24 15:46:45How to Find Good Tree Skiing– Before You Leave Home
With the recent release of Account Folders, we felt this was a good opportunity to emphasize another aspect of map organization: map sharing, or to put it another way, “who can see my map?”
CalTopo map sharing supports four levels of visibility: Public, URL, Secret, and Private. After looking at these, we’ll also cover shareable links, which allow you to give additional permissions for specific maps.
You save a map in CalTopo. Can other people view that map? It depends on that map’s sharing level. There are four options: Public, URL, Secret, and Private. The default setting is URL.
Public:
Public maps are not only visible to anyone on the web, they will show up in search engine results. Public maps are also incorporated into our own Shared Maps Layer, which lets users explore maps that other people have made. Use this setting to share your maps with the world. Avoid this setting if you want more control over who will view your map.
URL:
The URL permission setting makes it easy to share a map for others to view, without having this map included in web searches or the CalTopo Shared Maps layer. An example URL looks like this: https://caltopo.com/m/RP0V0. Use the URL setting to keep things simple. It’s easy to share URL maps for other people to view. However, a 5-digit code does not provide much security; if you don’t want just anyone stumbling across your map, consider moving it to secret.
Secret:
Secret maps require a special code, which we call a shareable link, for anyone besides the map owner to view the map. That link will look like this: https://caltopo.com/m/Q2F0K/14N6CNM9L5B1MS80, which is much longer and harder to share than the URL alone. Use secret when you have sensitive data on the map, or you want a higher level of control over who can access the map. Avoid using secret when you need to more easily and broadly share the map.
Private:
Private maps can only be viewed by the map owner, no exceptions. If you previously shared a map but then changed the sharing to private, anyone with previous access to that map will lose access. Only use private when you do not need to share the map, ever. You may also want to use it if you have very sensitive data, or if you need to unshare a previously shared map. When you change a map to private, even those who have it bookmarked will no longer be able to access it.
How to Share Maps:
To let someone view your map, Public and URL maps can be shared using the map url such as caltopo.com/m/RP0V0. For secret maps, you will need to create a shareable link. Shareable links can also be used to give other people additional editing access to a map.
CalTopo has three permission levels describing what someone else who is viewing your map can do to that map: Read, Update, and Write. Typically, someone viewing your map will have Read permissions, meaning they can view the map objects and interact with the map, but they cannot add or edit anything on that map.
With a shareable link, you could give out Update or Write permissions. A person with Update access can add objects to the map, but cannot edit any objects that someone else added to the same map. Write access then gives full edit permissions to that map.
Bookmarks:
When you access a map that another user owns, you have the opportunity to bookmark that map in your account. When you open a link to an outside map on your mobile device, or use a shareable link, a bookmark is created automatically.
When you bookmark a map, you will see in your account list what level of edit permissions you have to that map (read, update, write). If the owner of the map deletes the map or changes the sharing to Private, you will lose access to the map
CalTopo is designed for sharing. We make it easy to share between users, whether that be for your ski tour or to bring multiple agencies together for a missing person search. Having a good understanding of the sharing access levels and edit permissions enables you to get the full power of CalTopo. You are in control of who can access or edit your maps.
https://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.png00Julie Vargohttps://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.pngJulie Vargo2024-01-14 16:41:522024-01-14 16:47:58Map Sharing and Visibility
Covering more than 40 miles and 18,000 feet of elevation gain, the Infinity Loop on Pico de Orizaba is no small undertaking. But what does it take to plan and navigate a new route like this? Nathan Longhurst, the first person to complete this route along with partner Jason Hardrath, breaks it down for us below. Check out their CalTopo map if you want to follow along!
Blog post by Nathan Longhurst. All photos courtesy of Kevin Essa and Hayden Lynch.
Imagine a deeper way to experience a mountain. A journey not just to its high point, but around its flanks, revealing every angle, winding into every valley and over each ridge. What if you looped up and over the top, circled back around, climbed up and over again, then looped around the other side? This is an Infinity Loop, and it is an amazing way to fully explore a mountain.
Standing 18,491 feet tall, summiting the massive Pico de Orizaba once is impressive in itself. Summiting it twice in under 24 hours? Well, that’s a totally different type of experience.
On March 29, 2023, myself, Nathan Longhurst, along with Jason Hardrath, set out to establish the first Infinity Loop on Pico De Orizaba. This involved climbing up and over the 18,000 foot volcano, traversing halfway around the mountain on its middle flanks back to our starting point, climbing up and over a second time, and then traversing back around the other side. We completed the route in an epic 23 hour push, with 18,000 feet of climbing over 40 miles. It involved glacier travel, off-trail navigation, and significant time at high altitude.
Jason and I started our route planning by collecting GPX files of each section of the route from other climber’s trip reports and friends who had completed the circumnavigation. Using CalTopo, we imported several separate files onto one map, using these as a template to follow during our attempt. We consulted this map to make several key decisions. Which side of the mountain would we climb, and which would we descend? Would we circle back on the “long side” first, or the “short side”? Referencing the slope angle shading and elevation profiles of each portion made for easy comparisons of various sections of the route.
Nathan and Jason’s map of the Infinity Loop on Pico de Orizaba. Dreamed up and pieced together from research, first hand reports, and GPX tracks, this route is the first of its kind on the dormant volcano.
After a hectic blur of airports, long bus rides, and bumpy 4×4 roads, we reached our base camp on Pico de Orizaba’s northern slopes. Home for the next few days was a sturdy, rustic hut with stunning views of the peak, and of the valley far below. Mornings dawned clear and bright, with clouds building throughout the day. By afternoon, thunderheads reared up in billowing, dark masses, with cracks of lightning persisting into the evening. At night, the twinkling lights of villages dotting the Mexican countryside stretched to the horizon, blending seamlessly with the starry sky. It was a dynamic, yet peaceful place.
The weather steadily improved throughout the week, and after a few days of acclimation, we were eager to take off. After a fitful, nervous night of sleep, we finally started up the mountain in the early morning darkness. Our first climb up and over the peak was fairly straightforward. On the upper slopes, we were treated to a spectacular sunrise. A sea of clouds filling the valley below gave the impression that we were floating on an island in the sky. After a few moments of satisfaction on the lofty summit, we descended the dry, loose south face, the volcanic dirt providing a gloriously fast descent. Energy was high, and we felt very optimistic.
Climbing above the clouds on Pico de Orizaba.
Once we started the circumnavigation, the trail became overgrown and sometimes difficult to follow. Fortunately, in each moment of uncertainty, I was able to quickly pull out my phone for reference and get us back on track in seconds. The pleasantly cool morning gave way to a hot, dusty day. We descended lower and lower. As we neared the lowest point of the trail, the sea of clouds rose up and swallowed us, the cool, moist fog providing glorious relief from the hot sun above. We steadily made our way around the peak, occasionally catching glances of the summit towering thousands of feet above us. By evening, we had returned to the hut, where we were treated to a hot meal, clean socks, and a few wonderful minutes off our feet.
Swallowed by clouds on the lower slopes.
Darkness was quickly descending as we began our second climb. Slowly but steadily, we pushed upward through the thinning air. The clouds that had filled the valley had dissipated, and the lights of the villages seemed impossibly far below us. We were in a different world, some alternate reality made only of the crunch of snow underfoot and the irresistible pull of the summit somewhere above in the darkness. Time stretched, seconds morphing into hours. Eventually, inevitably, we stood on the apex once more. Fatigue, darkness, and a frigid wind provided a stark contrast to the warm, sunny morning that now seemed impossibly long ago. We descended quickly, eager for air and warmth.
After our second climb up and over the towering volcano, we had only 8 miles between us and the finish, and 3 hours remaining before our 24-hour goal time. Based on the mostly efficient travel on the other side of the mountain, we were optimistic that we would make our goal. We met up with Alden, our wonderful support man who provided snacks, water, and a warm fire. Spirits high despite fatigue, we sped off into the cool night.
The first major climb went well. However, as we crested a small col and began a steep, loose descent down the other side, the trail vanished. I checked the topo map, and compared our location to a GPX track of the trail. We had indeed missed a sudden zigzag in the track. We cut back through the brushy desert, but upon crossing the GPX track several times, there was no trail to be found. As we continued forward, roughly following the GPX track, the trail remained very sporadic. We would occasionally pick up a section, begin following it with sighs of relief, then once again lose it with a wave of frustration. It quickly became apparent that making our 24 hour goal would not be easy.
Darkness descends, bringing with it route finding challenges.
With my phone out, constantly checking the map to find the most efficient lines up and down through the complex maze of gullies and ridges that cut the flanks of the volcano, I led the charge towards the finish line. I was perfectly in my element- moving efficiently through the difficult terrain, constantly making route decisions and corrections despite having very little visibility of the terrain ahead. The clock ticked mercilessly as we neared our destination.
As we crested one particularly painful climb, with less than an hour left, our radio crackled to life. Moments later, a twinkling headlamp appeared on the horizon. It was our fantastic film crew, Hayden and Kevin, waiting on the ridge above the hut. The finish was in sight. A burst of stoke and adrenaline carried us across the final basin, up and over the final climb, and down to the hut for a finishing time of 23 hours and 40 minutes. It was a beautiful moment of gratitude and elation.
Nathan (left) and Jason (right) all smiles on Pico de Orizaba.
Author Nathan Longhurst is a lover of all wild places. Originally from Spokane, Washington, he now travels the West in his big blue van searching for mountains to climb and powder to ski. He believes that the meaning of life is hiding somewhere in the alpine, he just hasn’t quite found it yet…
Want to learn more about the story behind this effort? Check out the Journey to Infinity trailer below! This documentary follows Nathan and Jason through as they work to establish the Pico de Orizaba Infinity Loop. The full documentary drops October 1st on YouTube– use this link to set a reminder so you don’t miss the live premiere!
https://i0.wp.com/blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2.png?fit=2240%2C1260&ssl=112602240Meghanhttps://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.pngMeghan2023-09-21 08:51:252023-09-21 09:45:20One Way to Fully Experience a Volcano: the Pico de Orizaba Infinity Loop
Not only does Sasha Heinen write code for CalTopo, they’re also an avid packrafter. Originally a long distance hiker, Sasha got into packrafting as a way to expand the backcountry terrain available to cover, especially in the Grand Canyon. Here are their favorite CalTopo features for planning the ultimate packrafting adventure- enjoy!
For desert packrafting enthusiasts, catching ephemeral flows – those fleeting moments when water levels and weather align perfectly for an epic adventure – can be the ultimate goal, and the key to executing trips that few get to experience.
The author enjoying one of those special ephemeral flows.
With their lightweight and portable design, packrafts provide an unparalleled level of access to some of the most remote and untouched areas of the backcountry in every landscape, allowing adventurers to explore places and waterways that would otherwise be impossible to reach.
There are a ton of resources out there when it comes to planning trips, including American Whitewater, guidebooks, blog posts, youtube videos, and maps curated by government agencies. CalTopo is the perfect tool to put all the data you can gather in one place as you plan your next packraft adventure.
Snap-to on every travel path
Packrafting is one of the ultimate multi-sport mediums. CalTopo’s snap-to feature, available for free to all users on the web, is critical for planning all of the segments of a multi-sport trip. For example, when planning a trip to the Middle Fork of the Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, or the Bob as we locals affectionately call it, I have to map a hiking section, a paddling section, and a car shuttle.
The Bob isn’t well-mapped in OpenStreet Map (OSM), so the default snap-to line behavior isn’t very helpful in this particular area as you can see below.
Hmm there isn’t much OSM trail or road data for the Bob.
Conveniently, I can switch my snap-to lines target to the USFS-published roads and trails in the upper left, letting me map the 12-mile hike along Lodgepole Creek and see the elevation profile of the hike to the put-in.
Much better! By using the Snap To drop down menu to highlight USFS trail and road data, there are a lot more options in this specific area.
But why stop at just snapping your route to trails and roads? I also want to get a sense of the distance along the river, as well as to have a line that will “pop” when I look at the map. This part is not crucial for this particular trip, but I still like to have it as a reference! I switch the snap-to target to Hydro, and can capture the full 25 miles of river from Schaffer Meadows on down.
The last step in making my overview travel map for the trip is getting the shuttle line on the map. Many people will use Google Maps for this, but I find it really satisfying to see the full loop of a trip on one map, and maybe if I have enough time I’ll get to bike this section instead of driving it! I can use a third snap-to target of Motor Vehicle Use Maps, or MVUM, to draw the shuttle line. Check out my completed map with all the different snap-to sources I used to create it.
Pro tip: Use the snap to menu to change data sources as you draw your line. For example, you can start by snapping a line to a USFS trail and then switch to snapping it to a creek. You don’t have to stick with the same snap-to data source while you draw your route!
Get more local beta with Map Sheets
Knowing where you are along a river & what big features are coming up is crucial as a whitewater paddler, especially in an unfamiliar reach. Most rivers don’t have rapids marked on standard trail or hiking maps. However, in many areas, the land management agency publishes a PDF. Desktop and team subscribers can import theses PDFs into CalTopo, even if the PDF doesn’t come with geospatial referencing by default!
Adding local maps as map sheets is a great way to bring in even more beta, including descriptions of rapids!
You can change the transparency of map sheets just like any other map layer. Make it visible when you need it and hide it when you don’t.
Want to check out these map sheets for yourself? Take a look at my sample CalTopo map with the added USFS river maps.
Track flows with water gauges & recent satellite imagery
When getting on waterways that have tighter windows & less reliable flows like those in the American Southwest, it’s important to be plugged into changing conditions day-over-day, or even hour-over-hour! Pro, desktop, and team subscribers can easily keep tabs on flows across an entire watershed using the Weather Stations overlay – no more hitting refresh on five USGS gauge pages. I often keep an overview map of the gauges in my area pulled up during weather events in the spring and early summer to see how flows change throughout the watershed.
Using the Weather Stations layer to display the water gauges in a large area can be a great way to keep an eye on current flows.
With CalTopo you aren’t restricted to one layer at a time- you can combine data from all kinds of sources as you plan your trip! Here’s a neat example: for a recent trip on the Bruneau-Jarbidge rivers in Idaho, we were able to combine recent Sentinel satellite imagery (available to pro, desktop, and team subscribers) with the Weather Shading and Weather Stations overlays to make an educated guess about how a period of warming would affect the snowpack above the river we were interested in rafting. Check it out below- you can see the flows on the upper Jarbidge gauge at the bottom, combined with Sentinel imagery of the snow lying in wait to the south, and the 24hr temperature high.
So much info all in one place! The Sentinel Weekly layer shows current snow coverage and water gauges display current flows. The coloration comes from the Weather Shading layer and shows the 24-hour high temp for the displayed areas.
Starting out with CalTopo can be intimidating. Even as an experienced adventurer & digital mapper, I’m always learning new ways to use CalTopo’s tools to plan trips.
Whether you’re chasing ephemeral flows or enjoying dam releases, CalTopo can be a powerful tool for planning packrafting adventures.
What are your favorite CalTopo features for planning packrafting trips? Are there any that I missed? Questions? Let us know in the comments below!
https://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.png00Meghanhttps://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.pngMeghan2023-05-08 12:26:502023-05-08 14:50:09The Best CalTopo Features for Packrafting
Planning and navigating a ski tour can be complex. CalTopo places powerful mapping tools at your fingertips, but it’s more than just following a line. Which map layers are the best for scouting terrain? How long will your intended route actually take? Does your proposed trip for the day align with the current and forecasted conditions in that area?
Created in collaboration with the American Mountain Guide Association, Goretex NA, and Fischer Skis, the Pro Tour Tips: Trip Planning video series features helpful and bite-sized trip planning tips from professional guides for every step of the process. From the best map layers for avoiding the dreaded bushwhack to using the mobile app to navigate your plan in the backcountry, these tips will help you get the most out of your next ski tour.
Ready to dive deeper into trip planning with CalTopo? Make sure to check out the Winter Travel Series, where we systematically break down each step of the trip planning process and highlight the best mapping tools for the job. Whether you’re a mapping app newbie looking to master the basics or a veteran searching for tips to take your skills to the next level, there’s a little something for everyone.
https://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.png00Meghanhttps://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.pngMeghan2023-02-14 13:13:172023-02-14 14:44:14Get More Out of Your Next Ski Tour
This is the first post in a 5-part series covering our favorite CalTopo layers and tools for planning winter backcountry travel. Each post will dive into a different stage in the process, from learning about the terrain to actually heading out into the backcountry with the mobile app. We will largely be focusing on the web app but many of the layers and tools are also available in the mobile app. Now let it snow!
Learning about Terrain
Learning about terrain can be a daunting undertaking, particularly if the area is new to you. Map layers like topographic maps, aerial imagery and slope angle shading can provide great insight into the natural features of an area from the comfort of your computer or mobile device. Let’s dig more into each of these layers and how you can use them to plan winter backcountry travel.
Compare Topo Maps to Get a Lay of the Land
A great place to start is with a topographic map, such as MapBuilder Topo.
Topographic maps like MapBuilder Topo can tell you a lot about an area.
This topo map is CalTopo’s signature base layer and it incorporates data from a variety of sources including trail and road data from OpenStreetMap, peak names from Peakbagger and relief shading based on USGS elevation data sets.
Contour lines and relief shading can reveal possible ascents, descents and travel routes.
Topo maps are helpful for visualizing the lay of the land. Using the contour lines, you can identify broad ridges or low angle slopes that may be good ascent routes. If you’re planning to ride or ski, you can also spot potentially good fall line descents. Relief shading makes these features stand out even more, helping you to identify them faster.
Topo maps also provide information on important features and points of interest, such as trailheads, logging roads, summer trails, and bodies of water. There is no one map that is the definitive source of truth about an area; rather, different maps display data from different data sources. Switching between topo maps and comparing the information present on each can provide more information about an area than just looking at one topo map alone.
For example, the image below shows the MapBuilder Topo and Forest Service layers (which displays official Forest Service data) in the same area. Drag the slider from side to side to compare the information present on each layer. How do the names of the peaks compare? Which layer shows trailhead locations? What features are present on one layer but absent on the other?
With CalTopo, you aren’t limited to just one topo map. You can easily switch between base layers or stack them on top of each other, allowing you to gather even more data about the area that you are interested in.
Visualize the Terrain with Aerial Imagery
While many topo maps include vegetation shading, diving into the aerial imagery for an area can really help you to learn more about what the terrain is actually like.
Finding the right tree density can be the difference between easier travel and a miserable bushwhack.
Even though much of the land itself is covered in (ideally) snow, aerial imagery, such as Global Imagery, can provide important insight about the underlying terrain for planning winter backcountry travel. Is a slope normally covered in rocks and talus or is it grassy? Where are the open meadows? Are the trees in an area densely packed or more spaced out?
If you are in the continental United States, a particularly useful layer is NAIP. Like many of the layers on CalTopo, NAIP is configurable. Changing NAIP to false color IR causes healthy vegetation to appear bright red, making it pop even more. This can help you to identify areas where the trees are densely packed (potentially presenting a miserable bushwhack) and areas where the trees are more evenly distributed (which could mean easier travel or more enjoyable tree skiing and riding).
If you are only viewing aerial imagery, adding the contour lines overlay or stacking relief shading in conjunction with the imagery can allow you to better visualize changes in elevation. You can also try stacking a topo map and adjusting the transparency to provide geographic context so you know exactly what peak or valley you are looking at.
Two layers can be better than one. Stacking aerial imagery with a topo map allows you to view the actual terrain with geographic context.
Dig into Slope Steepness with Slope Angle Shading
A popular year-round tool, slope angle shading is a visual overlay that uses a color scheme to identify slope steepness based on USGS elevation data sets, including high-resolution LIDAR data from the 3DEP program where available.
Each color corresponds to a different slope angle range. For example, red indicates slopes with 35-45 degree slope angle.
This overlay can provide great insight for planning winter backcountry travel: it can help you to identify gentle slopes that may be easier to ascend, manage avalanche danger, spot potential terrain traps, and more.
It’s important to note that slope angle shading can be an incredibly useful tool for increasing situational awareness but it is not the absolute truth. All slope angle shading has limitations, including errors in the source data as well as missing or creating terrain features based on the resolution of the underlying data.
Slope angle shading is most useful when combined with observations of the physical terrain, such as measuring slope angle with an inclinometer. We strongly encourage you to seek out professional training to learn more about traveling through avalanche terrain. Our partners at the American Avalanche Association and Avalanche Canada have some great resources to get you started or continue your education- make sure to check them out!
Try Different Layers and Combinations
As you start to explore a new area and plan your day, don’t be afraid to switch between different layers or try out new combinations. You may find that a topo map paired with slope angle shading to distinguish between gentle and steep slopes is really helpful for planning your initial route. Switching to aerial imagery stacked with shaded relief may provide insight into whether the route you planned is actually feasible given the terrain. CalTopo provides a wide array of base layers and overlays to choose from, allowing you to dive deep into the terrain before you step out the door.
Switching between different layers can reveal more about an area that just sticking with one layer.
Now it’s your turn! Are there any layers or tools we missed that you find particularly useful for learning about terrain in the winter? Question or comments? Leave them below.
Next week we’ll cover creating a map and planning your route. Until then, happy mapping!
https://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.png00Meghanhttps://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.pngMeghan2023-01-16 16:03:102023-01-24 13:46:11Winter Travel Series #1: Learning About Terrain
This is the second post in a 5-part series covering our favorite CalTopo layers and tools for planning winter backcountry travel. Each post will dive into a different stage in the process, from learning about the terrain to actually heading out into the backcountry with the mobile app. We will largely be focusing on the web app but many of the layers and tools are also available in the mobile app. Now let it snow!
Planning your route
As you learn more about an area, you’ll start to build your plan. Adding map objects (such as markers, lines, polygons, and photo waypoints) allows you to identify points of interest, potential travel routes, zones, and other relevant information. Visualizing the terrain and your map in 3D allows you to gain further insight into your intended plan and tweak it as needed. Let’s dig more into each of these features and look at how you can use them to plan winter backcountry travel.
Add map objects to build your map
What we call a “map” in CalTopo is actually just map objects that you have added at specific locations. Markers, lines, polygons, and photo waypoints are the most common map objects used for planning winter backcountry travel- let’s take a look at why you might use each of these types of map objects as well as some tips for getting the most out of them.
Adding and adjusting map objects allows you to customize your map to your needs.
Markers are a great choice for identifying relevant points of interest, such as the location of a trailhead, creek crossing, hut or decision point. If you add a marker along a line, the marker will show up in the terrain statistics or travel plan for that line. We’ll get more into tools like terrain statistics and travel plan next week, but for now just know that this can be particularly useful if you use markers to break a line up into legs- for example, you might add markers along a line showing an ascent route to indicate a potential lunch spot or where you might switch from skinning to boot packing on a ridge.
Markers designate important points, such as the perfect place for enjoying your pocket pizza. If you add markers along a line, they’ll show up in the terrain stats and travel plan for that line.
Lines are a useful way to designate possible ascents, descents and routes that you might want to travel. As you draw your lines, you can adjust how you are drawing them based on where you are trying to go. For example, if the first part of your ascent follows a summer trail shown on MapBuilder Topo, you can use snap to in order to snap the line to the summer trail as you draw. However, if you want to climb a broad ridge in the next part of your ascent, it might be a better choice to switch to clicking to add vertices or drawing freehand so that you can follow the contours of the land.
Switching between different drawing styles can allow you to tailor your route to the terrain.
Polygons are another common map object that are helpful for calling out particular areas. For example, you might add polygons to indicate common or local names for ski zones, such as the South Bowl, Silver Couloir or East Face. Since many zones can go by multiple names depending on who you ask, adding polygons with the name of the zone can provide a common language as you plan your day with other people.
While these aren’t the most unusual names, adding polygons to indicate the names of zones can make it much easier to collaborate and plan with other people.
Available to pro, desktop, and team subscribers, photo waypoints allow you to attach photos to a map or a specific map object. Adding photos of potential travel routes and known descents can be an excellent way to include visual beta for easy reference in the backcountry.
Adding photos of the area while you route plan can help you to create your own “guidebook” that you can reference in the backcountry.
Switching between map layers does not affect the position of map objects. As you add and draw map objects, you can change map layers as often as you would like to reveal even more information about a particular area.
Organize your map
Now let’s talk about the unsung hero of map organization: folders. Often overlooked, folders are organizational powerhouses. As you explore an area and add map objects, the Map Objects menu on the left hand side of the map viewer can quickly become overwhelming. Folders allow you to organize your map data in a meaningful way that can help make it more discoverable and manageable.
Compare the default folders (on the left) with the custom folders (on the right). Which do you think is more effective at organizing the data for this map?
How you choose to organize your data depends on the purpose of your map and what makes sense to you. For example, if your map displays possible ski tours in a particular area, you may organize the data into folders based on ski zones in that area. There is no wrong way to use folders- the key is to find an approach that works for you.
Visualize your map in 3D
As you start to build and refine your plan, visualizing and exploring the landscape and your intended route in 3D can provide further insight into the nature of the terrain and how your plan stacks up. Available to pro, desktop, and team subscribers, CalTopo’s 3D isn’t just any old 3D- it incorporates high resolution elevation data where available, offering unique and unparalleled perspectives of the landscape.
Visualizing your CalTopo map in 3D can help you to hone in on the details of your plan.
You can use all the map layers and tools that we’ve already discussed in 3D. View and stack map layers, build and edit routes, analyze imported and recorded tracks, and much more. 3D gives you the option to take a deeper dive and tweak your intended route and map as needed and further refine your plan before you head out the door.
Realized that you didn’t mark the correct entrance for a couloir in 2D? Simply edit and move that marker in 3D!
Now it’s your turn! Are there any layers or tools we missed that you find particularly useful for planning your route in the winter? Question or comments? Leave them below.
Next week we’ll cover using existing map objects to learn about terrain and your planned route- that’s right, we’ll be getting into line profiles, terrain stats and my personal favorite, travel plan. Until then, happy mapping!
https://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.png00Meghanhttps://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.pngMeghan2023-01-15 11:19:142025-01-02 10:41:16Winter Travel Series #2: Planning Your Route
This is the third post in a 5-part series covering our favorite CalTopo layers and tools for planning winter backcountry travel. Each post will dive into a different stage in the process, from learning about the terrain to actually heading out into the backcountry with the mobile app. We will largely be focusing on the web app but many of the layers and tools are also available in the mobile app. Now let it snow!
Learning about your route
As you build your plan, you can use the map objects that you add to your map to dive into the terrain and your intended route. Is the line you drew for a possible ascent actually feasible to travel or is it brutally steep? Did you budget enough time for snack breaks and will you be able to get back to the trailhead before the sun sets? CalTopo tools such as profile, terrain stats and travel plan can shed light on these questions and more.
With this information, you can tweak your plan as needed to give yourself the best chance of a great day in the backcountry. Let’s dig more into how you can use these tools to efficiently plan winter travel.
Evaluate your route
As discussed in the previous post, lines are a useful way to designate possible ascents and descents. However drawing a line doesn’t tell you a whole lot about what it will be like to actually travel that route. Displaying the profile of the line allows you to visualize how elevation changes over the course of that line. On the web, the elevation profile is interactive. If you mouse over the graph, you will see a dot on the line itself that indicates where that spot is on the map. This can be particularly useful for pinpointing the locations of steep ascents or descents.
Moving the cursor over the elevation profile also displays the location of that spot on the map.
If you want to dig deeper into the terrain that a line travels through, you can also examine the terrain stats for that line. In addition to the elevation profile, terrain stats also displays graphs of slope angle, aspect, tree cover and land cover. Terrain stats can provide a more complete picture of what you can expect along that route– you can zero in on which sections have dense trees vs no coverage, what aspects you’ll be traveling through, and more.
Any markers you add along the line will also appear in the terrain stats. Looks like your snack break will be above treeline after you finish the steep part of the climb. Sounds scenic!
For example, based on the terrain stats above, you would expect that the first mile or so of your intended route to gently climb through a forest with well spaced trees. As you approached about 1.5 miles in, you would anticipate the climber to get steeper and the trees to disappear as you moved above treeline.
Estimate travel time
Having a realistic idea of how long a tour might take can be the difference between heading back to the car in the daylight or by headlamp. With shorter days and overnight temperatures that often dip below freezing, proper timing is a particularly crucial part of planning winter travel.
Displaying the travel time for a line provides a quick estimation for how long it will take to travel a single line based on the Munter Method for Time Calculation. The Munter Method is a popular method for estimating travel time through non-technical terrain that takes into account elevation gain and loss, distance and travel mode.
Travel time quickly displays the estimated time it would take to hike, bushwhack or ski a route.
However, oftentimes you want the big picture- how long will the entire tour take you? How much time should you budget for your ascent or the long exit with plenty of bushwhacking? And what about your snack breaks?
If you have a pro or higher account, you can create a more comprehensive travel plan. Also based on the Munter Method, travel plan allows you to incorporate multiple lines (such as separate lines for ascents, descents and traverses) and break those lines into legs by adding markers (such as for a transition point or snack break). You can then adjust the travel mode individually for each line, resulting in a detailed travel plan that provides an estimation of how long it could take to complete an entire tour.
With travel plan, each line gets its own section. You can break each line up into legs by adding markers along the line and adjust the travel mode to create a custom plan based on your tour.
Both travel time and travel plan can help you get a better idea of how long a trip might take. This can be incredibly valuable for planning winter travel so you don’t get caught out after dark.
Adjust your plan as needed
Based on the information you gather from tools like terrain stats and travel plan, you may find that your plan needs some fine tuning. Maybe terrain stats revealed that the second half of your ascent is unnecessarily steep or perhaps your planned tour is going to take far longer than you anticipated. Regardless of the reason, you can easily adjust your plan by either editing or modifying existing map objects or adding new ones as alternatives. Using tools to dive deeper into the terrain and your intended route ahead of time can go a long way in planning efficient winter travel.
Based on what you learn, you can easily edit a marker, line or polygon to adjust your plan as needed to meet your goals for the day.
Now it’s your turn! Are there any layers or tools we missed that you find particularly useful for learning about your route in the winter? Question or comments? Leave them below.
Next week we’ll cover learning about current and forecasted conditions for the area. Having a thorough understanding of what to expect in terms of snow, temperature, wind and avalanche conditions can greatly influence your planning for winter travel. Until then, happy mapping!
https://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.png00Meghanhttps://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.pngMeghan2023-01-14 14:20:292025-01-02 10:47:17Winter Travel Series #3: Learning About Your Route
This is the fourth post in a 5-part series covering our favorite CalTopo layers and tools for planning winter backcountry travel. Each post will dive into a different stage in the process, from learning about the terrain to actually heading out into the backcountry with the mobile app. We will largely be focusing on the web app but many of the layers and tools are also available in the mobile app. Now let it snow!
Learning about current and forecasted conditions
As you get ready to head out into the backcountry, having a good understanding of current and forecasted conditions for the area is essential. Knowing what to expect helps you to choose appropriate terrain and travel routes for a given day as well as pack the right gear. Map layers like avalanche and weather forecasts, weekly satellite imagery, and real time snowpack data make it easy to display this information directly in your CalTopo map.
Let’s dig more into how you can use each of these layers (as well as some other tools) to effectively plan for winter travel.
Get the avalanche forecast
A great starting point for learning about current and forecasted winter conditions is the avalanche forecast. Developed in close partnership with the American Avalanche Association, USFS National Avalanche Center and Avalanche Canada, the avalanche overlay displays real time regional avalanche forecasts from local avalanche forecasting centers in the US and Canada.
The avalanche overlay displays real time avalanche forecasts from local forecasting centers directly in your CalTopo map.
Each zone is color coded to reflect the current danger rating. Clicking on the zone brings up a dialog with a summary of the current avalanche forecast as well as links to the forecasting center and full forecast. We highly encourage users to click through to view the forecast details and discussion and dive deeper into the avalanche forecast.
The avalanche forecast provides information about any expected avalanche problem(s) and can be very useful for identifying appropriate terrain for the given conditions. We recommend that all users seek out professional training to learn more about traveling through avalanche terrain. Our partners at the American Avalanche Association and Avalanche Canada have some great resources to get you started or continue your education- make sure to check them out!
Investigate current and forecasted weather
Whether you are chasing the deepest powder or trying to decide if you should pack that extra puffy, it is also important to have a solid understanding of what to expect from the weather before you step out the door.
The weather shading overlay displays National Weather Service forecasts using a color gradient along with the numerical forecast for each forecast grid at higher zoom levels. You can choose between forecasts for 24-hour low or high temperatures, precipitation, snowfall, and max wind speed and gusts.
If you’re chasing powder, the weather shading overlay can give you an idea of where the snow is falling based on the color gradient. At higher zoom levels you can also view the numerical forecast which in this case is a little… dismal.
With this overlay you can easily visualize forecasted weather right in your CalTopo map.This can be helpful for choosing where you may want to go on a particular day as well as what to pack. However sometimes you need a more detailed weather forecast for an area. To do this, right click on the area you are interested in and then select NOAA Forecast from the dialog that appears. The full forecast for that area will open in a separate tab, allowing you to dig deeper into what to expect.
Sometimes you just need more information. CalTopo makes it easy to pull up the full NOAA forecast for a given area.
There is one weather factor in particular that is an especially important consideration for winter travel: WIND. Yes, the dreaded 4-letter word. It can have a big impact on snow, your terrain choices (which anyone who has been blasted by high winds on an exposed ridge can attest to), and what layers you decide to bring. With the wind plot overlay, you can view current and forecasted wind speed and direction directly in your map.
On the wind plot overlay, the color indicates the wind speed and the thicker end of the line indicates the wind direction. Looks like it will be a bit blowy up high in a few hours!
This overlay can help you to identify areas that may be sheltered from the wind versus areas that are exposed, spots where wind loading may be occurring, and more. As with any digital mapping tool, the wind plot overlay is most useful when combined with physical observations of the terrain, such as looking for signs of wind-drifted snow. Again, we recommend seeking out professional training to learn more about traveling through avalanche terrain.
Track snow coverage and depth
Snow coverage is often a big question mark in the early and late season. Is there snow covering the road to the trailhead or has it melted out? How far am I going to have to hike before I hit the snow line? Is a particular couloir still holding snow?
Available to pro accounts and higher, the Sentinel Weekly layer can provide insight into current and past snow coverage alongside all your other mapping data. The imagery for this layer comes from the Sentinel satellite program, which captures imagery of every spot on Earth from the same angle every 5 days. It has 10-m horizontal resolution which is good enough to zoom in on an individual snow patch or find the snow line.
With the Sentinel Weekly layer you can check out current snow coverage, even if you are miles away from the area.
The Sentinel Weekly layer also has options for false color visualizations. False color green is particularly useful for distinguishing between snow and bare ground. Furthermore, stacking Sentinel imagery with relief shading and/ or a topographic map like MapBuilder Topo allows you to figure out exactly what peak or slope you are viewing.
Displaying Sentinel imagery as false color green helps make the snow pop and stacking it with a topo map helps you to figure out exactly what features are snow covered- looks like the Silver Couloir is still holding snow in this example!
In addition to snow coverage, snow depth and quality are also important considerations for planning winter travel. Available to pro accounts or higher, the weather stations overlay allows you to display real time snowpack data, such as snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE), from both SNOTEL and non-SNOTEL sensors in the area. You can view the current sensor readings or go deeper and display an interactive 7-day sensor history to examine how the snow has changed over the past week at that location.
Checking out snowpack stations and sensors in the area is the best way to learn about snow depth and quality.
Now it’s your turn! Are there any layers we missed that you find particularly useful for learning about current and forecasted conditions in the winter? Question or comments? Leave them below.
Next week will be the last installment of the winter travel series. We’ll be covering using the mobile app in the backcountry. Until then, happy mapping!
https://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.png00Meghanhttps://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.pngMeghan2023-01-12 14:42:082023-01-24 13:47:30Winter Travel Series #4: Learning About Current and Forecasted Conditions
This is the final post in a 5-part series covering our favorite CalTopo layers and tools for planning winter backcountry travel. If you haven’t checked out the other posts in the series yet, you can access them all here.
Using the Mobile App in the Backcountry
So you’ve done the work. You learned about the terrain using different base layers, added map objects to identify potential travel routes and areas of interest, evaluated your plan using tools like terrain stats and travel time, and narrowed down your options based on the current and forecasted conditions. Now it’s time to actually head out into the backcountry!
Now its time for the best part- the reason you do all the planning.
No matter where you are, the CalTopo mobile app makes it easy to access your map, update it as needed and navigate the terrain. Let’s explore how you can incorporate the CalTopo mobile app into winter travel.
Access your maps
With the CalTopo mobile app, there is no need to export your map data from CalTopo and then import it into another app or device. As long as you log in with the same account information that you used on the web, you will see all of your saved maps (including any maps created by other users that you’ve bookmarked) in the Your Maps list on the mobile app. This makes it practically seamless to plan at home and then access those maps on your mobile device for use in the backcountry.
Whether you create or bookmark a map on a computer or mobile device, the mobile app allows you to bring all the maps saved to your account with you.
However as you prepare to head out the door, keep in mind that you do need to have a data connection (either WiFi or cell service) to sync your mobile map list with the server. This ensures that your map list is up to date and you have the latest version of your maps.
Go offline
Many of the areas you travel to in the backcountry don’t have cell service (and for some people, that’s the best part!). If you have a mobile subscription or higher, you can download base layers and overlays, such as MapBuilder Topo or aerial imagery, to your mobile device. This allows you to use the mobile app offline in the backcountry. As long as you have layers downloaded, you can view map objects on top of those layers and zoom and pan around the map as you normally would, without a data connection.
Downloading layers such as MapBuilder Topo to your device allows you to use the mobile app offline. Looks like you’re ready to get offline!
This also allows you to put your mobile device into airplane mode while in the backcountry, which can help extend your battery life by preventing your device from searching for a cell tower. Conserving battery life is particularly important in the winter since cold temperatures can also quickly drain your battery. The other major contributor to battery drain? Excessive screen time. As much as we all want to know “How much further?”, being thoughtful and strategic about when you reference and use the mobile app is another way that you can further extend your battery life in the backcountry.
Record your track
As you leave the trailhead, recording your GPX track is a great way to track your location and create a record of where you traveled. It can also be helpful for ground truthing your original plan- did you end up traveling the route the way that you planned or did you make a detour? How long did it end up taking you?
With the CalTopo mobile app, you can record a GPX track directly on your map. This allows you to compare your planned route to the path you actually traveled. It also displays information about your elapsed distance, elevation and time as you travel the route, which can give you a good idea of how far you’ve come and how far you still need to go.
As you record your track, you view where you are on the map, where you’ve traveled and ongoing track statistics.
As long as you save the track directly to a map, it will become a line object on that map once you finish the track. You can add notes about how the actual route went in the comments for the line. Whether it turned out to be the pleasant option you expected or a brutal trek that you’re hoping to never repeat again, your recorded GPX track and any accompanying notes can serve as a useful reference if you head out in the same area again in the future.
Update your map
No matter how thorough your planning is, actually heading out into the backcountry will give you a lot of valuable information on your intended route and the terrain. Another advantage of using the CalTopo mobile app is that you can update your map as you travel the route. Adding and editing markers, lines, and polygons as well as photo waypoints allows you to record valuable information to your map that reflects what you are seeing on the ground.
Find a good viewpoint? Add a maker so you can return to that location in the future!
If you have a data connection, these changes will be automatically synced to the server. If you don’t have a data connection, any changes will save locally to your device and then automatically sync once a data connection is re-established without any action needed from you. This allows you to continually update and refine your map.
Navigate in the field
While it is important to never rely solely on one navigation tool, the CalTopo mobile app can be invaluable for negotiating the terrain. You can use your mobile device’s GPS to display your current location on the map, alongside all your other mapping information. And as long as your device has an internal compass, the cardinal direction that the top of the device is facing will be indicated by a blue arrow and numerical heading, allowing you to translate your surroundings to the map.
Whether or not you are recording a track, you can easily locate yourself on the map using your device’s internal GPS and compass.
Trying to identify something that is further away from you, such as a peak? Turning on the heading line can be really helpful for identifying those types of features on the map, especially if the feature is pretty far off in the distance.
The heading line can help you hone in on exactly which peak you are eyeing in the distance. Oh hello there, Uneva Peak!
You have the option to orient your map with north up or heading up. By default the mobile map viewer is north up- in other words the top of the map is north. The blue compass arrow (or heading line) will move to indicate the cardinal direction that the top of the phone is facing. If you aren’t used to it, it can take a little bit of practice to get comfortable; however one major advantage of using north up map orientation for winter travel is that you always know what aspect you are viewing.
You can also orient your map with heading up. In this mode, the entire map will rotate based on the direction that the device is facing- in other words, the direction you are facing or traveling will be up on the map. Your current position is indicated by a blue dot and the blue heading arrow reflects the cardinal direction that the device is facing. Many people prefer heading up because they find it makes it easier to orient themselves to landmarks.
In heading up mode, the entire map rotates to reflect the direction that the top of the device is facing.
Are there any layers or tools on the mobile app that you find particularly useful for planning winter travel that you think we missed? Tips or tricks? Questions or comments? Leave them below!
https://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.png00Meghanhttps://blog.caltopo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/caltopoLogo_menu1.pngMeghan2023-01-11 13:28:562025-01-03 12:27:33Winter Travel Series #5: Using the Mobile App in the Backcountry
