The Penticton Herald
reports that Trailforks assisted in the rescue of an injured mountain biker on the Three Blind Mice trail network in Penticton, BC. The free trail map app
Trailforks is Pinkbike's sister company.
After a rider was injured on the Bronco trail, her riding partners used Trailforks to send rescuers her exact location. Because of the rider's injuries and the area's terrain, Search and Rescue manager Kelvin Hall chose a helicopter extraction over a ground stretcher team. Hall recommends all backcountry users download Trailforks.
The rider's condition is unknown at this time, but we'll update this as soon as we know more. We wish her the best in her recovery!
Trailforks SAR InterfaceThe Trailforks SAR interface shows your position with included accuracy bubble and the coordinates of the injured rider. As you travel towards the victim, the map auto-zooms in to always show where you are in relation to the target. You can reset the target if information changes and the interface will auto-reset zoom and location to include your location and target.
The Trailforks user side emergency interface.
The real power of the module comes in the accuracy of the Trailforks data and the outdoor usability of the map interface. When you have to glance down at the map in full sunlight, having accurate trails overlayed on our high contrast custom basemap makes location acquisition quick.
On the Trailforks application user side, there is an option to use the emergency button which will both dial out to emergency services and provide their location in large latitude/longitude numbers. On some phones, when tracking is not being used within the app, the location that the phone reports can sometimes be way off. Some phones will try to use Wifi triangulation or other means to estimate location. Using the handy emergency feature in the app will force the phone to try to get a good GPS fix and report your location in big and easy to read numbers.
Usage of the 911 dial-out feature in the Trailforks app is not required for the SAR module to work, as they run independently. Often the PCFD relies on the 911 dispatch to provide the GPS coordinates as reported by the phone.
Trailforks also has a database of local emergency numbers, so if you're travelling and have an incident and pull up the emergency page, the regions local emergency number will be shown. Bike Parks can even enter their SAR number rather than riders calling the local towns 911.
From the emergency page you can also "Share" your location which will generate a link. When sent and opened by another user a pin of your location will open on their app or website.
For more information on how your SAR Group or Rescue outfit can get better connected, send an email to: support@trailforks.com
Just thinking out loud, but what if there was an option to alert nearby riders if you need help? Imagine you're riding just by yourself and you crash and need quick help...
Sms can be done too.
But privacy, opt-in requirements and abuse are always variables that pose a roadblock to all of us having cool and nice things
Garmins indeed use GPS, same as cell phones. The Garmin InReach differs from a cell phone in that it also has satellite uplink capability, i.e. it sends your data up to a satellite and then that satellite downlinks it to the ground station and routes it eventually where it needs to go, such as the internet.
GPS, global position system (or is it service?), is a receive only communications ‘link’. Your phone or device doesn’t need its signals to hit a gps satellite to determine your location. It only needs to receive signals from a few gps satellites.
I have two Garmin devices but the software on my edge 820 is a crime.
Me : "shut up and get trailforks"
Life saver status: Confirmed.
Or have it fall out.
Or crash and destroy it.
@canadaka: I never got on with cellphones and smartphones in particular drive me mad. My phone is a so called "feature phone" (where Trailforks isn't a feature) and my watch receives GPS and GLONASS. I understood somewhere that some Garmin devices support Trailforks though. Does that include this feature? My watch is from Suunto so it probably won't work for me. What I can do is read out the coordinates from my watch and text them with my phone. It isn't quite the same but it is something.
If im out camping and not on it really at all, just using it as a watch basically and snap a few photos and trying to set strava records i can get a couple days out of it no problem. Thats like keeping the screen brightness down and really just leaving it in my pocket most of the time though.
At work when im on it all the time im lucky to get a day. But thats with some heavy use and then it doesnt matter cause im not using trail forks. Id say barring just forgetting to charge it or really absolutely destroying it your ok. The 8 and up are also water proof (or resistant?) , it can be submerged. I keep it in my fanny pack and never had a problem
* knock on wood *
ive had worse luck dropping it while taking a dump and cracking the screen than crashing with it on me
But anyway, I once tried to call emergency with my phone after going down, but could not get my wet gloves off (too many broken bones) - I opened a Youtube video instead, I could not stop it, and it kept playing until the battery and the gbytes were used up. Luckily a trailrunner came by after a while...
That could be powerful outside of cell service...
How is it going to help when there is no connection?
LOL!
Trailforks is watching you. You are not the App user, you are the product for Pinkbike. Think about that for a second.
Usually I am riding and not RECORDING and only open the app up when at a trail intersection. This greatly saves battery life vs RECORDING. But the delay to update is far too long.
Is there any downside to having the app use "high accuracy mode" whenever the app is open? It seems to keep my GPS on the whole time the app is open.
Pinkbike: Uses an mtb crash to advertise for there own product on their own website
Welcome to below the threshold, its cozy down here.
This was 100% an advertisement.
Trailforks is not for sale and it's not about capitalism. This is about a tool that is helpful to the aid of the injured and those that respond. Seriously now.