Earlier in the month, search-and-rescue crews from the Canadian group North Shore Rescue, using helicopter and rope, found “a climber stuck on a cliff on the back side” of Mount Frome in British Columbia — the third in the area and the second in two months. In the two most recent cases, at least, hikers “may have tried to follow a route that wasn’t on Google Maps,” the group says. publication on Facebook.
The route marked on the platform, which was removed by Google at the group’s request, said “no trails” and crossed an area that was “very steep with lots of rocks everywhere”. Two years ago, “the area became more dangerous as it was the site of a previous accident,” the release said. The group had put up warning signs of danger in previous weeks, but that may not have been enough to prevent the latest recoveries.
Due to the “dense tree canopy” and the climber’s lack of flashlights, the rescue team could not see him from the helicopter and had to descend by rope, the team reports. “The team was able to locate the individual, put him in a harness and bring him and the team to safety where they could be extracted by helicopter – just before clouds closed in and blocked access.”
For North Shore Rescue, “it’s inappropriate to use ‘urban street mapping’ programs like Google Maps to navigate wild areas,” advisory tools developed for outdoor activities like Caldobo or Gaia, “preloaded with the appropriate topography. A map of the region.”
“If you use your cell phone for orienteering (we always recommend a good old paper map and compass), don’t forget to take a charged external battery, cartography programs can quickly drain your cell phone battery, especially in the cold” , emphasizes.
According to a report sent by Google Maps The New York Times As for the title, “a variety of sources are used to update Google Maps, including information from third parties, images and feedback from our community”. Anyone can send editing suggestions, and it’s unclear how the ghost trail appeared on Google Maps.
It is certain that this is not the first such incident. In 2021, mountaineering organization Hiking Scotland and the John Muir Trust, which maintains natural areas in Great Britain, warned that Google Maps could lead visitors to “potential” tracks on Ben Nevis.
In September, the family of a US man decided to sue Google for negligence after following Google Maps instructions and falling onto a collapsed bridge.
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