The Wisconsin Skier

I have reviewed a couple of mobile device apps already here, both having incidental relevance to skiing. Today’s review is the first one on an app dedicated to skiing and snowboarding. This app is Todd Schmalhurst’s Ski TrailMaps. Not only do I have the app and use it regularly I also have upgraded to the paid version.

FYI, the title says Ski but there is nothing ski specific about this application, snowboarders can get value from this application too!

Ski TrailMaps by Todd Schmalhurst — What?

Ski TrailMaps is an application you can download and install on your mobile device, quite simply it is an application you can use to locate nearby snow resorts and retrieve and view their trailmaps. However, that is not all, you can also get current resort conditions (snow and weather), available trailcam imagery, and satellite imagery of the resort. This means, you can pull up any map of any snow resort pretty much at your whim. Bored while waiting for the doctor? Pull out your phone and daydream about skiing a resort or become familiar with the resort you are going to this coming February.

The opening screen welcomes you with five options, since the app’s organizes the data well I have not had to use the search the search functionality nor the favorites. I fiddled with the settings early and I have not touched it in a long time.

Ski TrailMaps by Todd Schmalhurst — Getting to the Trails!

T The neat thing about this app is does not restrict you to a resort group, a region, a state, or even a single nation. Nope Ski TrailMaps gets you the whole world! I have not spent too much time looking at the other nations but the USA is further broken down by state. The other nations I have seen the app does not subdivide maybe I need to look at some more.

The app lists only those states and nations with ski resorts, so that cuts down on your scrolling.

Todd does not leave a single operating ski resort out and that is impressive. He does not turn his nose up at the small farm field resort where I first learned skiing!

Ski TrailMaps — A Map

So what do the maps look like? They appear they are the resort provided maps converted into a format that allows for a lot of zooming in and out. Furthermore, the app allows you to download all of a resorts’s maps on request as the app loads resort’s main map by default.

You can zoom in quite a bit and the detail continues for sometime. However, there is a point after which zooming does no good.

the application does not store the maps on the phone but pulls them from the cloud, and that means the use of this application can cost you against your data plan. However, once the application loads a map they reside on your phone for sometime and the app brings the map quickly. Many of the features also require data from the internet regardless of when you last retrieved that data (weather & snow conditions for example).

Ski TrailMaps — Final words

Pros

• Comprehensive in terms of resort coverage
• Maps download quickly
• Stores the maps on your device

No cons but I offer one suggestion. the application is location aware but it would be great if it could pinpoint your location on a trail map.

In summary, Ski TrailMaps is a great application I suggest to you to make your snowsports more enjoyable. Go get it and tell Todd The Wisconsin Skier sent you!

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