Track Profiles

All walking tracks (longer thn 200m.) in all maps have been individually profiled through software analysis which examines the terrain over which the track lies, the coordinates along the entire track's length, the slope, orientation and contours interpolated at a high resolution 5m interval. Each profile bundle consists of a freely downloadable .zip file for each map which contains:

  • an elevation profile diagram for each track in that map
  • statistical information about the track characteristics;
  • and a schematic diagram showing all the tracks in the map in their correct position relative to each other, with the track being profiled highlighted in red. The schematic diagram makes it very easy to locate the track position within the topographic map.

Track Statistics

The tracks statistics provide:

  • the length of the track
  • the cumulative climb and descent, ie the portion of non-level walking, included in the total track length.
  • the highest and lowest elevation found on the track
  • the maximum and average slopes, uphill and downhill. This is an indication of the steepest gradient you are likely to encounter along the track, as well as the average gradient which gives the track its overall profile on the ground.

    Note that the vertical scale of the profiles for each map sheet has been kept constant to make comparisons between different routes easier.

The statistics are helpful to interpret the visual profile diagram. We carefully selected a scale for the diagram that would reveal even relatively small terrain irregularities which would otherwise have been flattened out. However since the length of a track is usually many time its height, a scaled track diagram can appear steeper than the track actually is on the ground. Use the statistics, such as the average slope and cumulative up/downhil to get information about the real objective difficulties on the ground.

Terms and Conditions