Many winter sports enthusiasts ask themselves after a successful day’s skiing: How many kilometres of slopes have I actually covered today? Thanks to the new ski recognition feature, Google Maps can now help. The new Google feature tracks the kilometres skied on the slopes without having to use the app. SnowTrex shows how the new Google Maps timeline works.
Google Maps is no longer just a route planner. In the Google Maps timeline, users can track exactly how many kilometres they have travelled by car, bike, public transport or on foot. This is now also possible when travelling on skis and snowboard!
Many winter sports enthusiasts will be delighted with the new feature, as it is almost impossible to correctly estimate your own mileage without an app. And what fan of the slopes hasn’t wondered how many kilometres they have covered after a long, successful day on the slopes?
How the Google Maps timeline works
It’s super simple to use. If you have installed Google Maps on your smartphone and agreed to the location services in your settings, all you have to do is set off. There is no need to install an extra app, nor does the piste enthusiast have to keep taking their smartphone out of their pocket. Whether short turns, wide turns or shots – Google Maps automatically recognises that you are on skis or a snowboard based on your location, speed and breaks. So if you’re in a ski resort and hurtling down the piste at a correspondingly higher speed than when walking, for example, Google knows that you’ve got your skis or snowboard strapped on. On the Google Maps timeline, the kilometres travelled, including the duration of the journey, can be viewed at any time. The timeline can be found as a menu sub-item of Google Maps.
Kilometres are not everything when skiing
Google’s ski recognition is a welcome new feature for every skier, as they only have to switch on the location services once and can otherwise leave their smartphone in their pocket. It may also encourage particularly ambitious winter sports enthusiasts to set new kilometre records. However, kilometres are not everything when skiing. Fantastic views of the landscape, fast turns in deep snow, gentle gliding in fresh snow or a relaxed stop at the next mountain hut – all of this is also part of a successful and safe day’s skiing. What’s more, the app is extremely demanding on the battery and you still want to send photos to those at home or post live from the piste on your social media channels. As is so often the case, it’s all in the mix!
More apps for ski holidaymakers
If you’re a fan of the slopes and want to prepare yourself and your smartphone for your upcoming winter holiday, there are a number of other apps for extensive fun on the slopes. SnowTrex has put together three more apps to complement the Google Maps timeline:
SnowSafe
SnowSafe is a must for all winter sports enthusiasts who like to spend time off the groomed pistes. The avalanche app always provides up-to-date information on the risk of avalanches in numerous ski regions in Austria, Germany, Italy, Norway, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia. Even without a network!
PeakFinder Earth
Sitting on a mountain pasture, enjoying the mountain panorama and asking yourself: Which mountains am I actually looking at right now? That won’t happen with PeakFinder Earth! The app knows over 300,000 mountains and provides every mountain fan with a 360° panorama of the mountain names – worldwide and offline.
Ski gymnastics
Only with a good level of fitness and sufficient muscle strength can you cover many kilometres on the slopes. To get fit for the piste, winter sports fans can train with the Ski Gym app from Next Healthlab. The selected exercises strengthen all parts of the body that are needed for skiing or snowboarding.
