# Finding your Altitude when touring



## barryd (May 9, 2008)

One of the main things I try to find out when touring abroad is the altitude of where we are or where we are heading.

This can be key to having an idea of how long a trip will take or what the weather might be like as it makes a huge difference.

For example I am about to set off 16 miles from Bagneres de Luchon up to a Ski resort but we are surrounded by cloud which if we go up we will very soon be in!

Google Earth shows Altitude but Google Maps does not. I found this site. http://www.daftlogic.com/sandbox-google-maps-find-altitude.htm

It allows you to use google maps or paste in a lat and long co-ordinate to check the altitude /elevation.

You can just click on points on the map and see how high they are. For example I am starting at 2000ft but the highest point of my journey is 4770ft. I have two options for tonights stop which I can see from the site are either 3000ft or 4690ft although you couldnt tell from the normal map.

It needs an internet connection obviously but what I have done is plot all our stops and heights for the next couple of weeks so I know in advance if I cannot get online.

May be of use to some of you perhaps.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

I also like to have some idea of the altitude of places I'm heading for. Of course, my Garmin does it for places I'm at but it's good to know what's ahead.
Thanks


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## bigtree (Feb 3, 2007)

Brilliant find Barry


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## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

Sometimes your sat nav will tell you if you know where to look


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

Isn't there an "app" for that to use offline :wink: 

tony


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

IF there is Gemmy I would like to know about it. Could be useful.


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

you might also want to try http://www.doogal.co.uk/RouteElevation.php

stick your start and finish points in and it will show the best route plus the various elevations along it. can be useful if you are going across mountain passes, but extremely useful for cyclists so you can see what pain is ahead!!!


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## oly (Jan 27, 2011)

I have an app called 'my gps altitude' downloaded from google play store and was free.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

> *oly wrote: *I have an app called 'my gps altitude' downloaded from google play store and was free.


Thanks and cheers Fats for that link.

Does the app work offline? I dont suppose there is anything that works without a data or mobile connection?


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## Morphology (Jul 23, 2010)

> Isn't there an "app" for that to use offline :wink:
> 
> tony


Osmand.

Sorry, I'm sounding a bit like a stuck record, but it'll let you overlay contour lines, show you elevations etc.,

Morph (from 45m above sea level).


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Yes but does it work without a data or phone connection?


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

Barry - as far as I know the link I gave you only works online


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## Morphology (Jul 23, 2010)

> Yes but does it work without a data or phone connection?


Not sure who you were asking but yes, Osmand is fully functional completely offline. Android-only at present, iPhone in beta.

Hill-shading and countours are via a separate plug-in costing £1.99

You then need to download hill-shading or contour line map overlays (free). You need to be online to download the overlays, but this is only something you need to do once, and thereafter they are stored on your device. No data or phone connection needed in order to be able to use them.

I don't know where you are at the moment (I can't keep up), but this is a screenshot of contour lines around Bagneres de Luchon in the Pyrenees.



You can play with the transparency so that you can get contour lines only etc.

This is zoomed out a bit, with the Hill shading layer on, and the map transparency turned down a bit to emphasise the mountains.



Morph


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## Morphology (Jul 23, 2010)

Or how about just the hills for the whole of the pyrenees and southern France?


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## Morphology (Jul 23, 2010)

I was just reading a bit more about elevation in the Open Streetmap Wiki and basically, what OSM are saying is the best elevation data comes from NASA from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which NASA open sourced.

Unfortunately it is a huge data set - every point on the planet needs latitude, longitude and elevation data, so it is highly unlikely that any offline map will carry that level of detail any time soon, but also explains why there are a number of online sources (more compute power and storage available cost-effectively).

Some people are adding elevation data to nodes in ways (routes, roads etc), but OSM seem to be discouraging it due to the fact that it swells the data set for no good reason when SRTM data is better, more accurate, and free).

So, the Osmand map overlay approach is probably going to be the only workable offline one until devices get more powerful.

The overlay maps have been generated from the SRTM data and simply show contour lines. However, by zooming into a possible destination and looking for the contour lines either side, you can get a pretty good idea of your destination's elevation.

Osmand does track elevation in GPX recordings, which you can split as frequently as you like (1meter, 100m, 1km, 10km). It will then show you stats for each split point.

This is me driving along the M26 / M25 in the motorhome on the 18th July, split every mile. It shows speed during that split, increase or decrease in elevation, elapsed time etc.

But, of course, this is AFTER the event, as it uses recorded GPS data (with all its inherent elevation inaccuracies).



Morph


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

If you have TomTom just put in a programm called height. Always shows alt while driving in corner of screen. If you have igo primo it shows it anyway.


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## Morphology (Jul 23, 2010)

> If you have TomTom just put in a programm called height. Always shows alt while driving in corner of screen. If you have igo primo it shows it anyway.


I think you're missing the point. BarryD wanted to know the altitude of somewhere he is but also where he was _*planning*_ to go. As has been pointed out, loads of GPS apps will tell you how high up you currently are, it's the other bit that's difficult.


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

Ooppsss!!!!!


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Excellent stuff thanks.

Only got a mobile connection for now but will check these apps out when I can


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