Last year was the year of the "lost skier relies on cell phone," but as there hasn't been much confounding snow, idiocy has dropped a bit and most individuals have been paying a bit more attention. So, with that out of the way, what are some ways that a backcountry skier can use their smartphone, camera and computer to think about their skiing differently?
My silly iPhone now allows me to lay GPS tracks (with an app called RunKeeper) that I can pull into Google Earth on my PC and therefore print out personalized maps in addition to showing an elevation profile, fairly precise speed records and where I take photos. That isn't the end of it though, I can also use Google Latitude (which tracks my location in a similar, big brotherish sort of way) to tell me where I was when I took a photo (this is called geotagging). Sure the phone does this too, but if you're a Panoramio user like me, you aren't going to be posting panoramas with your phone.
How does this all work? The RunKeeper app is pretty self explanatory once you choose to load it onto your phone. Once back on your home computer, you will be able to see an elevation profile, calories burned (not sure how accurate this bit is), speed etc. It's all plotted onto a google map, which allows for satellite imagery or topographic modes. The track can be exported to GPX format or KML format (Google Earth). One thing that is important to note is that this technology is useful only if you already have decent navigation skills and a real map and compass. It's good for mapping lines that you cut (legally of course) or have stumbled upon and are expecting the associated death threats should you be poaching someone else's stash. In short, don't rely on your smartphone as your only source of navigational information, it is no substitute for common sense and good navigation skills.
Once you've copied your tracks into Google Earth, you have the choice to print them out or to overlay them on a topo map using Photoshop. If you are halfway decent at using photoshop, pulling the tracks onto a downloaded USGS topo (for FREE here: http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/usgs/maplocator/(ctype=areaDetails&xcm=r3standardpitrex_prd&carea=%24ROOT&layout=6_1_61_48&uiarea=2)/.do)is easy. Be sure to keep the scale, bearing and contour interval on there in some form, should you choose to crop.
If you're scouting and have laid a track in Google Earth, or are looking at, say a slide, you can either right click your track in Google Earth and display the elevation profile (pitch is marked in percentage, plus it displays elevation gain loss). If you haven't hiked or skied the slide, simply use the path tool to draw a path on the slide or line. You can now right click it and display the elevation profile. Pretty cool, huh? And somehow Google Earth is still free. Alright, I know I'm sounding a bit like a shill, but I just jumped to the dark side of Google Plus and couldn't be more bored by the package.
Back to geotagging photos, if you're out there and you need to map the start of a line, whipping out the phone and taking a photo is great because it will show up as part of RunKeeper's GPS track, but if you need a wider angle, the phone just isn't going to cut it. Using Google's Latitude App for the iPhone (by the way, Google's support for this app and the Panoramio App is beyond dreadful), you can throw photos up on Google Plus or Panoramio and the respective technologies will 'connect' the dots between the clock on your camera and your lat and long as recorded by your smartphone.
None of the above technologies should be your only component in your navigation decision making process, but if you are someone who enjoys keeping track of their skiing in a big way, these few ideas will definitely get you started.
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