4 ms·

I kinda hate this guy. Has turned American ski resort maps into a monoculture. I guess it’s not his fault, but it is a bummer. Back before him resort maps had

I kinda hate this guy. Has turned American ski resort maps into a monoculture. I guess it’s not his fault, but it is a bummer. Back before him resort maps had a lot more variety.

wetmore 4y ago
On the flip side, it's nice to see hand-drawn maps instead of computer generated ones.
nswanberg 4y ago
What did they look like before? Have any favorites?
- mchanson 4y ago
  I saw a Killington map from the mid 80s that looked like a subway map. https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/maps/ https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/maps/
  - runako 4y ago
    Different style for sure, but also much more difficult to read in my opinion. Elevation being depicted with topographical lines is harder for me to parse than elevation depicted with illustrated terrain.
rewtraw 4y ago
And they would almost certainly have devolved into generic computer generated graphics without his continued influence
medellin 4y ago
Nothing is stopping other people from making them… presumably others would be hired if they were better. Hate is a strong word to use against someone who is just doing what they enjoy and not hurting anyone.
aetch 4y ago
I agree, it would be helpful if resorts had a plain version of the ski map that shows the routes on each slope in 2D with some elevation markings (obviously most trails go down so it’s not too hard to guess the incline). The artistic map is nice to look at if you’ve been to the mountain before but loses so much detail on proportional distance and heights between each route that I end up using google maps or OSM overlays my first time on the mountain.
- mthoms 4y ago
  As I side project, I've been working on something to solve this: For ski resorts, 2D maps loose a lot of detail and have a lot of compromises (but are easy to understand and navigate). 3D maps offer more detail but are a pain to navigate and are often disorienting for non-technical users. My thought is a "2.5 degree" hybrid map. One that maintains the important 3D detail but keeps the navigation "on rails" so as to make everything easier. I'd be curious to know your thoughts on this, keeping in mind that this would be targeted at casual users and probably not HN types (HN types probably have no problem navigating/groking a true 3D map).
- tafda 4y ago
  Depends on how you’re trying to use the map, I find the the Niehues style great for finding a path to a lift or a lodge. If you’re trying to get a sense of terrain, the “FATMAP by Strava” 3d map is the best I’ve seen, with notes on off piste routes and various aspect, incline, topo etc overlays (and this is not a paid promo).

I kinda hate this guy. Has turned American ski resort maps into a monoculture. I guess it’s not his fault, but it is a bummer. Back before him resort maps had a lot more variety.

wetmore 4y ago

On the flip side, it's nice to see hand-drawn maps instead of computer generated ones.

nswanberg 4y ago

What did they look like before? Have any favorites?

mchanson 4y ago
I saw a Killington map from the mid 80s that looked like a subway map. https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/maps/ https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/maps/
- runako 4y ago
  Different style for sure, but also much more difficult to read in my opinion. Elevation being depicted with topographical lines is harder for me to parse than elevation depicted with illustrated terrain.

rewtraw 4y ago

And they would almost certainly have devolved into generic computer generated graphics without his continued influence

medellin 4y ago

Nothing is stopping other people from making them… presumably others would be hired if they were better. Hate is a strong word to use against someone who is just doing what they enjoy and not hurting anyone.

aetch 4y ago

I agree, it would be helpful if resorts had a plain version of the ski map that shows the routes on each slope in 2D with some elevation markings (obviously most trails go down so it’s not too hard to guess the incline). The artistic map is nice to look at if you’ve been to the mountain before but loses so much detail on proportional distance and heights between each route that I end up using google maps or OSM overlays my first time on the mountain.

mthoms 4y ago
As I side project, I've been working on something to solve this: For ski resorts, 2D maps loose a lot of detail and have a lot of compromises (but are easy to understand and navigate). 3D maps offer more detail but are a pain to navigate and are often disorienting for non-technical users. My thought is a "2.5 degree" hybrid map. One that maintains the important 3D detail but keeps the navigation "on rails" so as to make everything easier. I'd be curious to know your thoughts on this, keeping in mind that this would be targeted at casual users and probably not HN types (HN types probably have no problem navigating/groking a true 3D map).
tafda 4y ago
Depends on how you’re trying to use the map, I find the the Niehues style great for finding a path to a lift or a lodge. If you’re trying to get a sense of terrain, the “FATMAP by Strava” 3d map is the best I’ve seen, with notes on off piste routes and various aspect, incline, topo etc overlays (and this is not a paid promo).