Ski Resorts
Enough With Interactive Trail Maps
Whistler Blackcomb has one. So does Stowe. Hell, even little Blue Mountain here in Ontario has one. Has what, you ask? An interactive trail map.
An interactive trail map is a fancy, Flash-based version of the traditional map you view online and use on a hill. There seem to be more of them every year, but I can’t figure out why resorts produce them. I don’t think they look better, nor do I find they add any value when I’m trying to gauge how big a mountain is, or when I’m trying to locate a run. Moreover, they’re often slow-loading, and it’s not like you can use them on a hill.
Has anyone found any value in these?
Take a look at the Blue Mountain map, for instance. First off, the thing is only 720 feet high so it’s not like you’re navigating a real mountain. Zoom out, and the view is confusing; zoom in, and the view is useless. And what value do the little animated skier and car doodads add? Call me old-fashioned, but I just don’t see the point. I’ll stick to the traditional James Niehues maps, thanks.
I think the only “interactive” element I might find useful is some sort of video overview of each run, like a ‘helmet cam’ view or something.
Discussion
6 comments for “Enough With Interactive Trail Maps”
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They sure are pretty…
Having a bit more visibility in to the village pubs/shops from the trail map is nice. It is easier to see that from the interactive map.
And slow? I find that it is often just as fast to launch a flash applet as it is to have your browser open a PDF file, which is what Blue Mountain does.
You’re being too picky
When done right, the Flash maps can be good but often they are hard to use and confusing. Where I would like to see the online maps go is show things in three dimensions. Mountains like Whistler and Blackcomb that have so many runs on so many different facets of the mountain often makes it difficult to see how to get from place to place on the mountain. Plus if the the map was done accurately it would be a great way to see how steep and varied the terrain was on a particular run.
Great thread! I was just on the Sunday River “interactive map” and didn’t like it. They had a couple different options in addition to just downloading a jpg I think. Maybe only one was called “interactive.” Stuff only showed up if you moused over it, or turned it on from the little control panel. I was full screen, or nearly full screen, but you couldn’t zoom. The other option was either “East” or “West” (like I knew which side was what). Tiny little maps that let you zoon in and out, but the window was so small that by the time you zoomed in enough (to even read the trail names), you had no reference to the rest of the mountain!
Aside from all this, interactive maps are cool if done right. Enabling with a search engine, embedded photos, etc. is the logical next step.
But this actually gave me a business idea that I’m going to float to some friends of mine. What if you had a “bird’s eye view” of each trail like you were skiing down it? And I’m not talking about helmet cam footage.
Bird’s eye view — even better! *Anything* that gives you a *real* sense of what the trail might like. Squiggly lines just don’t cut it.
–adam
a company who rents helmet cams for snowmobiling in old forge, ny recorded themselves riding each and every trail, a very smart idea, its only a matter of time for resorts to do the same
I would like to see a trail map whereby you were doing a fly by of the trails. Like a helmet cam but without the bumpy ride, maybe a helicopter shoot or something like that. Can you imagine seeing West Cirque on Whistler shot like that. It would give you an adrenaline jolt just by watching it on the web.
Matt
Whistler Accommodations