What is the Peak Pursuer all about?
We created Peak Pursuer to provide hikers and mountaineers with a platform where they can easily publish their hiking and mountaineering trails as well as to make it simple for visitors to find new trails.
The whole idea started several years ago when we figured out that it is incredibly hard to find information about hiking and mountaineering trails online. Numerous websites with GPS tracks simplify the process to some extent but most of them provide you only with the GPS tracks for navigation via a smartphone or a GPS device, meaning that you have no idea what you are getting yourself into. For example, you do not have information about the technical difficulty of the trail, required equipment, conditions on the trail etc. Therefore, we developed the platform where hikers and mountaineers can in less than five minutes publish their hiking and mountaineering trips, and thus provide other outdoor enthusiasts with comprehensive information about their trails.
We always believed that this would not only make it easier for hikers and mountaineers to find new, and above all for them suitable trails but also have a very positive impact on their safety. Many accidents in the mountains happen exactly because people don’t have enough information about the trail. For example, the trail is too technically or physically difficult for them, they don’t know that they need equipment such as crampons/ice axes, helmet etc. or they get lost on tricky terrain.
How does the publishing work?
Everybody can publish on Peak Pursuer. The Peak Pursuer platform guides publisher through six steps so that the information about the trail is complete and comprehensive (see video).
In the first step publisher uploads GPX track (learn how to create GPX track here) from which the platform calculates distance, ascent, descent, physical difficulty level, starting point location etc. The GPX track also enables the platform to draw a route on the map.
In the second step the publisher provides some basic information about the trail such as existence of way marking, accessibility of the starting point, technical difficulty of the trail etc.
The third step is for mountaineering ascents and allows the publisher to pair the trail with a mountain. If the trail is paired with a mountain it will be shown as an approach route for that mountain. Every publisher can also add new mountains to the platform.
In the fourth step the publisher can explain what equipment is required for the trail and what is the terrain like.
In the fifth step the publisher can upload photos and add his own description of the trail.
Sixth step allows the publisher to preview the adventure before publishing it.
Each publisher on Peak Pursuer gets a profile page where all his trails are listed. Publishers also get experience points for each published adventure as well as achievement badges such as 50 kilometers hiked, 1000 meters climbed etc.
See how a published trail looks like »
See how published trails are shown as approach routes »
Publish your first trail now »
How do you find new trails?
On the Trails page all published hiking and mountaineering trails are displayed on the map. They can be filtered by ascent, distance, maximum altitude and technical difficulty so that everyone can find a trail suitable for his/her preferences. With the click on a map marker (and read more) you can get comprehensive information about the trail. A comments section enables you to ask the author for additional information.
See what information you get about each published trail »
What is coming next?
After several years of brainstorming and developing, the platform is finally online and serves both publishers and readers. The platform is of course completely free and will never require that you pay to continue using it. You can register right now here. We would also like to hear from you. If you have any suggestions drop us a line in the comments below or send us an email on [email protected].
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