SummitPost.org

I am off to Aconcagua next week, I have had a good look on the net for some way points or even a GPS track for the normal route. I not 100% happy with them as when you input them into Google Earth they look a bit off.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

thanks

Rob

If you're taking the Normal Route, I have every waypoint and track you will possibly need. If you are going another way, only my waypoints and track near the top will coincide with your route, but it's something. Which route are you taking?

Yes normal route, Sorry I should have add that to the post.

Day Hiker wrote:If you're taking the Normal Route, I have every waypoint and track you will possibly need. If you are going another way, only my waypoints and track near the top will coincide with your route, but it's something. Which route are you taking?

Two different file formats:

Garmin GDB file

GPX file

Wow, thanks so much.
Will let you know how it goes.

Rob

Day Hiker wrote:Two different file formats:

Garmin GDB file

GPX file

robmo wrote:Wow, thanks so much.
Will let you know how it goes.

Rob

Day Hiker wrote:Two different file formats:

Garmin GDB file

GPX file

You're welcome. Let me know if you have questions regarding the tracks or waypoints. I reduced each track to 500 points; if you need a different number, I can make those changes.

By the way, in Google Earth, the elevation data are a little off. The highest point shown on Google Earth is just over 22700 feet and is not the true location of the summit. Also, their photo overlays are not always in the correct position, so sometimes a trail shown in their satellite photo will be offset from a GPS track. In the case of the summit, their photo may be aligned correctly, but it's hard to tell because the resolution is not sufficient and it's so whitewashed.

With the exception of a couple of places, the GPS satellite reception on the Normal Route was good. On the summit, as is typical with summits, the reception is ideal, and my summit waypoint is time-averaged, with a precision that should be within a few meters horizontally.

ok n00b question here. but do you guys take the waypoints for research before, to familiarize yourselves with the route? Or do you take a GPS with you in case of poor visibility etc..?

waXology wrote:ok n00b question here. but do you guys take the waypoints for research before, to familiarize yourselves with the route? Or do you take a GPS with you in case of poor visibility etc..?

Aconcagua's Normal Route is well-traveled, and following it isn't too much of an issue. Although, there have been cases of people going the wrong way up high, where the route is not so clear.

I gathered as much information as I could before the trip, with maps, photos, descriptions, and GPS coordinates, because I had never been there before, and I wanted to visualize the route and know where I was going, not just blindly follow the other people on the route.

On the slog up to base camp, it was nice to have a point marked, so I could count down the distance. It's not at all essential; it's just enjoyable for me.

On the trip, I used the GPS to keep an electronic record of the entire hike. This electronic record keeping is something that interests me. Other people might write in a journal. Still others might not care to do either.

In poor visiblilty, I would use any tool at my disposal, including GPS, but I don't believe in relying on a GPS as my ONLY way back to safety. The thing could stop working for a number of reasons. So I always want to make sure I don't ever wind up in a situation where I'm screwed if that happens.

Day Hiker wrote:

waXology wrote:ok n00b question here. but do you guys take the waypoints for research before, to familiarize yourselves with the route? Or do you take a GPS with you in case of poor visibility etc..?

Aconcagua's Normal Route is well-traveled, and following it isn't too much of an issue. Although, there have been cases of people going the wrong way up high, where the route is not so clear.

I gathered as much information as I could before the trip, with maps, photos, descriptions, and GPS coordinates, because I had never been there before, and I wanted to visualize the route and know where I was going, not just blindly follow the other people on the route.

On the slog up to base camp, it was nice to have a point marked, so I could count down the distance. It's not at all essential; it's just enjoyable for me.

On the trip, I used the GPS to keep an electronic record of the entire hike. This electronic record keeping is something that interests me. Other people might write in a journal. Still others might not care to do either.

In poor visiblilty, I would use any tool at my disposal, including GPS, but I don't believe in relying on a GPS as my ONLY way back to safety. The thing could stop working for a number of reasons. So I always want to make sure I don't ever wind up in a situation where I'm screwed if that happens.

ahh thanks. I spose when I attempt it I will be doing the same taking GPS and all. Thanks for clearing it up.

waXology wrote:ahh thanks. I spose when I attempt it I will be doing the same taking GPS and all. Thanks for clearing it up.

The GPS track log of my entire 21-day trip, including the mountain, the bus rides, 5 days walking around Mendoza, and the round-trip airplane flights from LAS, fits into one file that is about 1.5 MB, which is smaller than one single photo jpeg from a decent camera.

That log of my trip is something cool that I can keep forever. I don't have the kind of life and finances where I can take repeated trips to climb mountains in other continents and other hemispheres, so this is a big deal to me. The total cost of the 21 days of data was only about $10 in AA batteries. The hard-drive cost to store a 1.5 MB file is essentially zero.

Hi Day Hiker,

any chance you can upload your GPX file again?

Thanks so much and have a good day