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#1
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Tours In Vanoise or Gran Paradiso
Hi,
I'm looking for info regarding hut touring in Vanoise or Gran Paradiso from Val D'Isere. We'll be there late April & early May. What are the logistics of getting into Gran Paradiso from Val D'Isere? Are there good ski-tour maps available in Val D'Isere? How long in advance do we have to book huts in April/May? Any/all info is most welcome! Thanks Linda |
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#2
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Tours In Vanoise or Gran Paradiso
Linda wrote:
Are there good ski-tour maps available in Val D'Isere? The French 1:25000 IGN maps mark popular ski touring routes with dashed blue lines. I can't tell you about the Italian maps but I'm told they are not as good. The French maps stop quite abrubtly at the border and only fuzzy details are shown on the Italian side. How long in advance do we have to book huts in April/May? In general you should be able to turn up. This French site gives a lot of useful information about refuges: http://www.refuges.info/ The French Alpine Club (CAF) also has many refuges, this link may be useful http://www.clubalpin.com/fr/presrefuge.html Should be a great trip although the weather can sometimes be a bit unstable at the end of April |
#3
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Tours In Vanoise or Gran Paradiso
David Off wrote:
Linda wrote: Are there good ski-tour maps available in Val D'Isere? The French 1:25000 IGN maps mark popular ski touring routes with dashed blue lines. I can't tell you about the Italian maps but I'm told they are not as good. The French maps stop quite abrubtly at the border and only fuzzy details are shown on the Italian side. On a related subject, a noob question re GPS: I know that a GPS works world-wide, but can I obtain maps of Italy and France for a GPS that is bought in the UK (like I can buy OS maps etc), or is there something that would prevent that ? Any recommendations for a top-class GPS that is suitable for both skiers and walking ? |
#4
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Tours In Vanoise or Gran Paradiso
On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 10:06:25 +0000, BrritSki
wrote: I know that a GPS works world-wide, but can I obtain maps of Italy and France for a GPS that is bought in the UK (like I can buy OS maps etc), Yes, but they're not cheap. Last time I looked, Garmin were still charging something like £60 per map for their Mapsource software. or is there something that would prevent that ? Just the size of your bank balance. Any recommendations for a top-class GPS that is suitable for both skiers and walking ? Out-of-date now, but I have a Garmin GPS3+, with scrolling/zooming map display, which is v. useful for such things, as well as sailing. Some of the cheaper ones still only give you a read-out of your coordinates, so are probably not what you're looking for. -- Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom) Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club. |
#5
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Tours In Vanoise or Gran Paradiso
Ace wrote in
: On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 10:06:25 +0000, BrritSki wrote: I know that a GPS works world-wide, but can I obtain maps of Italy and France for a GPS that is bought in the UK (like I can buy OS maps etc), Yes, but they're not cheap. Last time I looked, Garmin were still charging something like £60 per map for their Mapsource software. or is there something that would prevent that ? Just the size of your bank balance. Any recommendations for a top-class GPS that is suitable for both skiers and walking ? Out-of-date now, but I have a Garmin GPS3+, with scrolling/zooming map display, which is v. useful for such things, as well as sailing. Some of the cheaper ones still only give you a read-out of your coordinates, so are probably not what you're looking for. Note that the Mapsource maps are essentially just road maps, and they're the only maps you can put in a Garmin GPS (I think there's an equivalent product, and an equivalent limitation, for Magellan equipment, but I have no personal experience here). For skiing and (especially) hiking it is occasionally convenient to have the Mapsource data for the region in the GPS - mostly to navigate from home to the car park! Once you're on foot the GPS is a useful adjunct to your paper maps, but doesn't replace them. You can get 1:25000 IGN maps of France on CD (see www.ignrando.com and www.bayo.com - of these IGN Rando has altitude data and is much the cheaper, but doesn't cover some areas covered by Bayo). You can't download the maps into the GPS, but you can use the maps to prepare routes and waypoints which you can then download to the GPS. I don't know whether the equivalent exists for Italy. I have a Garmin Etrex Vista, which I would recommend with reservations - it is physically robust and has a reasonable amount of map memory, but tends to switch itself off and eats batteries, and has a very slow serial interface. It is however a good choice for outdoor activities - it has a compass and altimeter, and it's very small. If I were buying now I would definitely look at the Garmin GPSMap 60CS. Jeremy |
#6
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Tours In Vanoise or Gran Paradiso
Ace wrote:
On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 10:06:25 +0000, BrritSki wrote: I know that a GPS works world-wide, but can I obtain maps of Italy and France for a GPS that is bought in the UK (like I can buy OS maps etc), Yes, but they're not cheap. Last time I looked, Garmin were still charging something like £60 per map for their Mapsource software. But what is a "map" ? All of Europe, 1 country, a region of a country ??? or is there something that would prevent that ? Just the size of your bank balance. It may be a company purchase as I obviously need it for navigating to new clients... Any recommendations for a top-class GPS that is suitable for both skiers and walking ? Out-of-date now, but I have a Garmin GPS3+, with scrolling/zooming map display, which is v. useful for such things, as well as sailing. Some of the cheaper ones still only give you a read-out of your coordinates, so are probably not what you're looking for. No, I was thinking of top end like the Garmin GPSMAP 60CS with electronic compass and barometric altimeter. |
#7
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Tours In Vanoise or Gran Paradiso
Jeremy Mortimer wrote:
Ace wrote in : On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 10:06:25 +0000, BrritSki wrote: I know that a GPS works world-wide, but can I obtain maps of Italy and France for a GPS that is bought in the UK (like I can buy OS maps etc), Yes, but they're not cheap. Last time I looked, Garmin were still charging something like £60 per map for their Mapsource software. or is there something that would prevent that ? Just the size of your bank balance. Any recommendations for a top-class GPS that is suitable for both skiers and walking ? Out-of-date now, but I have a Garmin GPS3+, with scrolling/zooming map display, which is v. useful for such things, as well as sailing. Some of the cheaper ones still only give you a read-out of your coordinates, so are probably not what you're looking for. Note that the Mapsource maps are essentially just road maps, and they're the only maps you can put in a Garmin GPS (I think there's an equivalent product, and an equivalent limitation, for Magellan equipment, but I have no personal experience here). For skiing and (especially) hiking it is occasionally convenient to have the Mapsource data for the region in the GPS - mostly to navigate from home to the car park! Once you're on foot the GPS is a useful adjunct to your paper maps, but doesn't replace them. You can get 1:25000 IGN maps of France on CD (see www.ignrando.com and www.bayo.com - of these IGN Rando has altitude data and is much the cheaper, but doesn't cover some areas covered by Bayo). You can't download the maps into the GPS, but you can use the maps to prepare routes and waypoints which you can then download to the GPS. I don't know whether the equivalent exists for Italy. I have a Garmin Etrex Vista, which I would recommend with reservations - it is physically robust and has a reasonable amount of map memory, but tends to switch itself off and eats batteries, and has a very slow serial interface. It is however a good choice for outdoor activities - it has a compass and altimeter, and it's very small. If I were buying now I would definitely look at the Garmin GPSMap 60CS. Good choice ! That's the one I was thinking of. Thanks for the info re map loading into GPS. Anyone know of any similar units where I can load maps of France, Italy (and UK) walking areas ? |
#8
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Tours In Vanoise or Gran Paradiso
David Off wrote:
Linda wrote: Are there good ski-tour maps available in Val D'Isere? The French 1:25000 IGN maps mark popular ski touring routes with dashed blue lines. I can't tell you about the Italian maps but I'm told they are not as good. Confirm. Stay on the IGN or the LDS topographics as long as you can. Italy is third-division when it comes to maps and mapping. |
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