Can the skier scalded by the closure of the ski lifts become an experienced hiker? In any case, vacationers attracted by the great outdoors after several weeks of confinement have rushed to hire ski touring equipment, snowshoes, and other sliding instruments that are used in the context of so-called more “free” practices. “.
Read also Ski resorts: the ski lifts could reopen on January 7
Started with freeride, freestyle, backcountry and by the effects of the degradation of permafrost which threaten the anchorages of equipment at altitude, off-piste, “anomic” in the 1960s, with the rush for white gold and construction ski resorts, has become “canonical”, as sociologist Michel Maffesoli would say.
But hiking in the mountains is a risky business for those who do not know how to orient themselves, read a slope, get used to the effort and give up. The Whympr app – whose name refers to Edward Whymper, the famous British illustrator and mountaineer who first climbed the Matterhorn and the Aiguille Verte – is intended to help you prepare for your mountain trip. you planned to go mountaineering, cross-country skiing, rock climbing or hiking.
Community and multidisciplinary
Users thus have access to more than 60,000 mountain routes, information on each route, as well as topographic maps (Mapbox, IGN) and functions for sharing with the community. The app, available on Android and iOS, was developed by Timothy MacLean, a mountain dweller, trained at Apple where he participated in the launch of the iPod and iPad, with his cousin Xavier Bougouin.
The originality of the concept is to bring together different practices within the same platform, as well as previously separate services, relying in particular on Camptocamp.org, a sharing platform well known to mountain people.
A free version and another paid
The application in its free version provides a set of information (routes, weather conditions, sharing of experiences, maps, GPS tracking, topos…) useful for knowing the state of the mountain in real time, all over the world.
The paid version (10 euros / month – 20 euros for three months) offers access to GPS tracking, weather forecast. It can be consulted even when you no longer have a network. You can still view the maps downloaded for the trip and photos. GPS tracking allows you to know the distance traveled, the average speed, the positive and negative elevations, as well as the elevation per hour. Finally, the essential meteorological data are provided by Meteoblue.
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