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Don’t want to slip and fall off the mountain? There’s an app for that.
The app uses drone photos to create a 3D route guide and aims to replace cryptic notes that climbers have relied on for decades.
- University of Calgary student Ben Pearman developed the ThreeTopo app using drone photography to create a 3D digital model of the 240-metre Red Shirt climbing route on Mount Yamnuska in Alberta.
- After struggling with route finding on the sheer rock face, Pearman created the tool because navigating the terrain proved difficult. Climbers previously relied on cryptic, decades-old typewritten notes to guide their way.
- Climber Miles Abesdris, 38, who tested the app, described trad climbing as "somewhat horrifying" at first. Pearman emphasized safety, saying, "I know a bunch of people who have had to be rescued by helicopter."
- The ThreeTopo app enables one-handed navigation during climbs, providing specific guidance at safe points. Users receive instructions like, "You'll want to start traversing left from the anchor," helping climbers maintain their route.
- Pearman intends to release ThreeTopo publicly and hopes other climbers will contribute data for popular North American routes from B.C. to Nevada, making the sport safer through expanded navigation coverage.
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Total News Sources9
Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Center
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
67% Center
L 33%
C 67%
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