 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
Last year I bought a SportsDo GPS ski package which, whilst I like it, proved rather inconsistent throughout last seasons ski trips. At one point I go on chatting with some guy who was skiing with a Garmin Forerunner 205 which seemed much more consistent than having to rely on a connection between the GPS unit and a separate mobile phone. He said he could easily relay his saved days skiing tracks up to programs like Google Earth and save them etc via USB. I was quite tempted to purchase this model but was wondering if anyone had any skiing experience with it; one of my major concerns is whether it will still pick up a strong signal when underneath my jacket as I don't like the idea of skiing with it on the outside of my gear.
Also, does anyone have any experience with any other models that offer similar traits?
Finally, I saw a site called SnowRanger where you can upload piste maps to the GPS unit which I think is a great idea - however, does anyone know of a system that allows all the GPS saving of tracks as well as calories/distance/speed counters that the Forerunner 205 offers, coupled with navigations capabilities that would allow viewing of piste maps whilst on the go?
Cheers
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You might want to look at this thread:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1026158&highlight=gps#1026158
Fishslice has a website for uploading ski based tracks which works out whether you were going up or down and provides stats on the run. Personally, I've used a bluetooth GPS to Dell Axim pda system which worked okay, but was a bit fiddly with the two devices. I now have a Garmin GPS 60, which I've used for collecting tracks for a walking holiday but hasn't been skiing yet. I've not had any signal problems with the GPS kept in my rucksack, you get the occasional signal loss in lift stations (but not normally on lifts) and in the odd location (i.e. walking along a lakeside in trees next to a cliff). The Garmin is pretty well-ruggedised, so I'd be happy enough exposing it to the elements.
I've not used GPS for navigation, I rely on a reasonable map and the view of the terrain - if the weather was so bad I couldn't see the terrain I'd be pretty cautious about relying on the GPS to stop me walking (or skiing) over a cliff (they have no self-preservation instinct  ).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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i am actually looking at the Garmin Oregon 300 but cant seem to find if it calculates calories or not - any ideas?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
i am actually looking at the Garmin Oregon 300 but cant seem to find if it calculates calories or not - any ideas?
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 why would anyone want to know that? And if they really did, would a standard calculation done by a GPS be any use? Do you have to tell the GPS how much you weigh? With kit? Would it tell you whether you were allowed a beer at lunchtime?
Snow-forecast were doing an offer with a Garmin GPS pre-loaded with ski maps. I have no idea whether it's a good price, or a good system, though.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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what about an iPhone with their new GPS - work abroad? would that do the job?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Never ski with GPs
They will make you look like a novice slider.....but an expert drinker 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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i like to be able to relay my tracks during the summer and check my speeds out whilst there though - the map functions are just bonus that I think would be worth having
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Used Sportstracker on my N82 in Stowe back in March. Worked very well... apart from the battery life. Unfortunately my jacket had no inside pockets so I'm suspecting teh 7F (yes Farenheit) temperatures were to blame. If you could keep the device inside your insulation layer, the battery should last considerably longer.
CW
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Dunno about the forerunner 205, but the bike equivalent has built in Li battery. No idea how long that would last, but it stands a chance of running out before the end of the day. Maybe in the worst case it would stop altogether in extreme cold?
Personally I'd use a GPS with a pair of AA batteries, for which it is easy to carry a spare pair of duracells. eTrex and Colorado use AA, don't know about Oregon. Ancient eTrex won't work in a jacket, but maybe the newer SiRF III devices will? I wouldn't want to use my phone all day as a GPS, when I carry it for emergencies.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| cardweg wrote: |
Used Sportstracker on my N82 in Stowe back in March. Worked very well... apart from the battery life. Unfortunately my jacket had no inside pockets so I'm suspecting teh 7F (yes Farenheit) temperatures were to blame. If you could keep the device inside your insulation layer, the battery should last considerably longer.
CW |
I had the same battery life experience with my N82, so I bought a little battery powered charger that keeps it going all day - £7.99.
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_12&products_id=103052
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Garmin GPS 60 runs off AA batteries, I got about 15 hours from a pair of rechargeables.
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You know it makes sense.
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What do you do with all this information once you've collected it?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| What do you do with all this information once you've collected it? |
With sportstracker you can upload it to the Nokia site where it is stored and can be viewed on a map by others. With a suitable phone, any photos that were taken on the route will also be displayed in the right place on the map.
Here's one I did in October:
http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=490673
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Poster: A snowHead
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telford_mike, don't really see the point. Nice pix though - like the look of the pub!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| telford_mike, don't really see the point. Nice pix though - like the look of the pub! |
Thanks. I know what you mean about the 'point' of it, for me it's just a glorified photo album. The whole GPS thing is technically impressive but unless manufacturers add sufficient value to it (as Nokia are trying to do) it'll remain a somewhat geeky pastime I believe. Nevertheless I'm keen to give it a go in Wengen next week!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I like the idea of instant navigation with a piste map allied to real terrain information, in an unfamiliar area, especially in poor visibility. Isn't that what the satski will do? It'd have to get cheaper before I'd want to afford it, though.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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The Satski device links to \ uses local piste maps (that are downloaded from their web site) as it source. In that regards its as good as they are. It can record your track and report speed, altitude, distance etc. These are shown on the piste map. It can also use the piste map or google earth via a PC for you to see where you've been.
It will show you where you are and offers route planning from your current location in resort. You can also use it for 'how to I get to x from y' type solutions. Each resort has other information provided like contact numbers for restaurants, ski schools and shops.
It it's not a topographical mapping device, for that you'll need a different mapping device. I certainly wouldnt trust my life to this , nor any other GPS device.
I dont know how it will stack up in regards to GPS reception, against GPS phone or dedicated GPC devices. Even my Garmin lost signal in the mountains.
Sound like a nice toy though. 
They also offer the SW as a download to install on a GPS mobile phone and a tracker \logging device that records your tracks and can be later uploaded to a computer.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
It it's not a topographical mapping device
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This is the bit I don't understand. Piste maps do various sorts of violence to the actual geography of pistes. They are certainly not topographically accurate (some are no doubt nearer than others). A GPS will compute your actual position (lat and long or a topo grid reference). How does it convert that into a position on a topographically inaccurate piste map? Are they having to convert the piste maps into something more accurate (in which case the layout of pistes could look quite a bit different from what we're used to on piste maps.
I wouldn't trust my life to a GPS either, though in some situations if I knew that I really didn't know exactly where I was I might not have any choice. Used properly they are less likely to make silly mistakes than I am, and they don't get tired and seasick. They can, of course, run out of electricity but that would be my fault.
Or the US military could switch off the whole system....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I would avoid Satski- I have had problems with mine and think mine is faulty- the company will not consider a refund but are willing to offer a replacement.
I now have to go via trading standards £206 is a costly lesson.
I have, potentially, a faulty unit (unless it really is that bad that it thinks my average speed skiing is 68 kph when stood by a lift and jumps about 500m when viewing my days skiing across pistes) and a long long dispute on my hands.
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I have used my Garmin Forerunner 305 on ski trips, worked gwell for me. It never ran out of power but I did recharge it overnight every night.
I had the thing in my jacket pocket rather than wrist mounted and it didn't seem to loose sat signal, well the tracked path was not interrupted anyway. The main disappontment is that overlaying the days tracks over google earth or the garmin map isn't the same as overlaying a piste map. Indeed the sat pics were taken in summer months so looks even stranger and its not easy to see what pistes you were skiing.
The calorific calculation is derived from heart-rate which is recorded by a chest mounted strap and yes you do need to enter your weight.
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Just spent 4 days in the 3V with one  who had a Nokia N95 with sports tracker, but an external GPS receiver so as to not run down the phone's battery.
Worked really well and every evening we could look at our day on Google Earth...
We clocked 51 miles on one of the days!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Both Nokia Sportstracker & SportyPal seem to work by recording & logging your position, and uploading these co-ords to maps on-line when you connect after skiing.
Can anyone tell me if I can upload good maps to my Nokia (E-71) device, so I can see my position on a mountain map in real time? and what are the best maps or product for this???
Thanks
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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You know it makes sense.
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We clocked 51 miles on one of the days!
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Kruisler, 51 miles (82 km) is pretty impressive going. I rarely ski more than 30 - 35 km in a day. Unless you are including lifts in your measurement (which my Navman A300 doesn't) in which case how do you know how much skiing you have done and how much sitting on the lift?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Hi all, I've just come across this thread whilst looking for something else and thought a comment would be useful, I noticed that SnowHeads news letter this week was sponsored by GTrek. Now I’ve used one of these devices and I think they are ideal if you only need to know where you’ve skied and how far. The main advantage I found with this device was that the accuracy was spot on, battery life was more that I would ever need, it’s small and light and enough storage to give every minute detail even down to the turns I was putting in skiing down the piste. And there no additional maps to buy, I like free to use it anywhere.
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Poster: A snowHead
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nutwood, have the forerunner skilog and found gives me enough info speed, vertical and you can link to google maps and fly over your route, cool but sad 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Call me a Maverick, but I go on holiday to get away from all the techno rubbish that surrounds me everyday.
Do you really need an electronic log of where you have been?
Can't you just remember?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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bar shaker, i kind of agree, althugh I do like the dolomites where you can key in your pass number and you can get the stats - I thought I'd done loads more this year than last time..... and hadn't 
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FAQ
