Strava Quietly Adds 3D Winter Mapping To App

Blink and you might have missed it. FATMAP is back! Well, sort of. As we already lamented here on POWDER, our favorite 3D mapping app FATMAP was shut off for good last fall after being acquired by exercise tracking app Strava. In that process, users lost access to a powerful 3D visualization tool filled with high-resolution winter imagery of mountains and route descriptions. It left plenty of skiers disgruntled with the new owners, but it seems Strava has finally listened to the outcry and re-integrated FATMAP-style winter imagery into the mobile app. Winter imagery does not currently seem to be available in the desktop version of the app.

After acquiring FATMAP, Strava entirely rebuilt their 3D mapping software using a proprietary map rendering engine. This meant lots of backend development work to get things running smoothly, and perhaps some unanticipated challenges (and delays) along the way. 

The new winter imagery features are available in seemingly the same spots that FATMAP's coverage extended to. These are focused on popular resort and backcountry areas all across the globe. Highlight zones include the Tetons, Rogers Pass and coastal BC, the Wasatch, the Cascade volcanoes, Lake Tahoe, the High Sierra, plus international destinations like much of the Alps, and parts of New Zealand and Japan. 

The newly-added imagery itself seems to be of higher quality compared to the older FATMAP imagery, making it far more usable for winter navigation. Contrast and resolution seem to both be improved, making it easier to pick out important navigational details.

Inside the app, it's also possible to toggle layers like slope angle, aspect, and points of interest. The map also has labeled run names for most resorts and popular backcountry ski lines.