Bubbl.us Adventurous Training Mobile Technology Experience

I decided to reflect on the mobile technology I use continuously in Adventurous Training. After creating this Mind map I realize how much I use and how reliant I am on this technology to provide accurate information to enable safe practice in the outdoor environment.

Mobile phones

Mobile phones are a much relied on source, not only as an accessible form of emergency communications but also being able to gain information from the internet i.e weather tide times etc. the use of this device enables safe practice as an adventurous training instructor. Mobile technology has recently developed for climbers and mountaineers, which has become an exciting and time saving concept. Mobile apps have been created for climbing topos and logbooks as well as crag and mountain guidebooks. Here are a few I have experience with using:

Bouldr (iPhone/iPod Touch, £1.79, iphone.bouldr.net)
Probably the leading 'guidebook' application at the moment, Bouldr relies on the power of crowd sourcing to provide locations and photo topos for a variety of different climbing areas. It uses the GPS functionality of your iPhone to determine exactly where you are, which then lets you find your nearest crag, and even your nearest route. Photo topos with route overlays complete the package.

Climbing and Mountainering Dictionary (iPhone/iPod Touch, £1.19
The Climbing and Mountaineering Dictionary is multilingual dictionary that translates hundreds of technical climbing and mountaineering terms between 5 languages: English, Spanish, French, German and Italian. Given that many of these terms don't appear in standard dictionaries, this app comes into its own when trying to understand foreign guidebooks, or converse with climbers abroad. The interface is attractive and fast, and photographs or illustrations are provided for each term.
 
MotionX GPS (iPhone/IPod Touch £1.79, gps.motionx.com)
My Tracks (Android, Free, mytracks,appspot.com)
The GPS functionality informs you of your current latitude and longitude. While this information on its own is very useful for mountaineers stuck in a whiteout, or those wishing to record the location of a shelter or gear stash. Motion X GPS for the iPhone, and a free alternative for Android, called my My Tracks, both track your movements over a period of time, link in with downloadable maps (from Google Maps and elsewhere), and can even give you an estimate of your current altitude. The apps are also particularly useful for those out jogging or fell-running, as they can tell you how far and how fast you've been running for.