Bannerman's pass (Maps distance)

Just completed Bannermans  Pass  this weekend.  A beautiful pass,  but  treat distances shown on Govt  Printers  map No 3 (2003) -Giants Castle  with caution.It shows the distance from Bannerman's  Hut to the  summit at 3  Kilos. Its actually  just  over 6  kilos.

its  not possible to  get  lost  on  Bannermans  Pass:)  You are walled  in  all the way  to the summit i do  agree though that  Google earth  shows  it  is around 2.2 ks re a straight line
However the  path is definitely  not a straight  line  unless you have superhuman powers  .Interesting  concept  GPS signal bouncing  off  the rocks as I have never heard  of that but thanks  for  the  info   .  I think the signal bounce  issue sounds very  plausible though .thanks 

 

agree as well  as your  statement re  pass distance being  irrelevant when  compared with vertical  gain ..As anyone who has hiked up up the  many Berg  passes  will know.

Ivan,

I've had it happen to me often on my previous Garmin Fenix 3 in battery saving mode that the signal will get "lost", and when the GPS powers up and hunts for a signal it would show wild swings in various directions before it finally locks on and show the correct location. This typically happens in passes where it becomes more difficult for GPS receivers to keep track of satellites overhead. This continuous hunting for signal adds a lot of distance to your track. Let me see if I can find an example for you.

Here's an example going up Ships Prow.

The blue line was taken with another GPS that logged a data point every second. The grey lines arethe tracks taken from 2 separate trips up Ships with the Fenix 3 in Ultratrack mode. As you can see, a lot of signal "hunting" occurred, and this adds a lot of distance quickly to your tracks.

One last thing to mention here: The Fenix has the option to enable 3D tracking. This also makes a bit of a difference to the distances travelled by foot, as it essentially tracks the undulations etc. over the terrain you cover. As an example: If you climb up on a rock that is 2m high and then move 1m forward, a map will say that you only travelled 1m. Without 3D tracking selected, your GPS will also show that you only travelled 1m forward, however, 3D tracking will show 3m as you literally moved a distance of 3m.

I find with 3d tracking on, my distances are typically about 20% to 25% further than the distances indicated on the maps. This, plus zig-zagging across the terrain trying to find the best route will also add a bit of distance to your track. However, I can confirm that Bannermans is not 6km's from the hut to the top, not even with taking into account any of the above, except for the incorrect readings as the GPS hunts for signal.

Hi Riaan

Totally agree no  way could be  6ks .Thanks for GPS info and  explanations    .Very helpful to know the  info  Smurf and you have given,.