UKH

Hi all,

Which ones are best to consider for The Alps in general (or if you know of specific range apps, that would also be good).

In the UK I use OS maps most of the time and import GPX files.

OS Maps doesn’t seem to have much for Mont Blanc.

Can you recommend what is used in the Alps?

Also recommend a good source of GPX files?

Also, the handheld Garmin GPS, do you simply add GPx files to them?

Swisstopo is free, excellent quality, and covers these three mountains (But Mont Blanc in lower detail as its outside of Switzerland of course)

I cannot seem to locate gpx files for Mont Blanc Gouter route.

I will check it out thank you - anyone else?

swisstopo just seems to be a gps map - useful, but id love to have gpx routes loaded up....

Not my wheelhouse but for running i have found someone doing the same route on strava and downloaded it as a gpx to load on to my watch, it may be a feature of subscription though so use the free trial. Better yet use a paper map or follow the trench to the top.

OutdoorActive is the go-to site for anything vaguely in the German speaking world (and the largest in the world). The Gouter route as gpx is on it.

Me too. And then hope they didn't go the wrong way.

It lets you load up routes too.

The SAC now have very detailed online information for all common routes - it includes GPS tracks but also photgraphs etc of  key sections.  It's actually too detailed for my tastes by very impressive (and you have to pay).  On the website

https://www.sac-cas.ch/en/huts-and-tours/sac-route-portal/.

For Mont Blanc when you get the paper map  https://amzn.eu/d/0TIYmVa doest that entitle you to the electronic version too?

For Switzerland and near the border I use 

https://map.schweizmobil.ch/

And they also have an app if you search the App Store for SwitzerlandMobility

Alpinism is a bit different to hillwalking and route finding is a bit different to navigation, so you might find GPS routes aren’t as much use as you’d like. The Matterhorn particularly is a bit too steep. Also, if you follow last years GPX you might fall in this year’s crevasse.

There’s quite a lot of good stuff on Camp2Camp and FATMAP for free.

Honestly if you need a gpx for (presumably) the hornli what you need is an eyetest

Yes. A gpx trace for the Hornli would be useless. As mentioned above, route-finding is not the same thing as navigation.

On the other hand, you might be very glad of a gpx trace on certain bits of Mont Blanc, should the weather suddenly turn to shit.