Can OnX Backcountry Replace FATMAP For Backcountry Mapping?

With the FATMAP 3D mapping app sadly shutting down for good earlier this week after being acquired by Strava, backcountry skiers were left hanging without one of the most useful tools for navigating in the mountains. As a longtime user of FATMAP, I’m pretty bummed that Strava actually pulled the plug on the app. Back in June, when the news first broke, I wrote a piece about what it means for skiers, and what to do about your data. So far, Strava still doesn’t seem to have carried over any of the useful navigation features and winter imagery from FATMAP into their own app, so I was left looking elsewhere for a new tool to replace my old favorite.

My criteria were pretty simple, but included a few key requirements. It needed to be a user-friendly mobile app with a 3D map mode, with a corresponding desktop/browser version to use at home. Relatively recent winter satellite imagery of mountainous areas was a must. It also needed the ability to save routes and map imagery offline, to use when I had no service in the backcountry. Having publicly shared in-app routes is a nice plus, but not necessary, since I would usually prefer to draw my own route. I also didn’t care much about recording routes in-app, since that’s something I rarely do on my phone.

What Other Options Exist To Replace FATMAP?

There’s quite a few options out there that satisfy many of those requirements, including the Caltopo mobile app, Trailforks, Contou.rs, Rakkup, Gaia GPS, Apple Maps, and OnX Backcountry. Here’s a quick rundown on what I found:

Trailforks is best used for mountain bike and trail running navigation. It’s got excellent mapping, but isn’t super usable for skiing, since it lacks winter imagery. Caltopo’s free website is an awesome choice for pre-trip planning, drawing routes and researching areas, but the mobile app is pretty glitchy and therefore not reliable in the field. There’s a ton of good public tracks on there, but please be judicious about actually following these in the mountains. Gaia offers a very similar experience, with an interface that I don’t prefer, but many users seem to–personal preference there. Rakkup is essentially a guidebook in app form, with excellent information available from reputable mountain professionals and guidebook authors, but doesn’t offer much in terms of usable 3D mapping on your phone.

Contou.rs is a relatively new app that seems to work well in Europe and offers a similar interface to FATMAP’s 3D map, but only offers 3D mode for a $20/year paid version. I know that Apple Maps is kind of a hot take here, but for spring and summer skiing, the extremely high-resolution mountain imagery is wildly useful. Unfortunately, for mid-winter skiing, the imagery doesn’t really show enough snow cover to be useful.

Finally, OnX Backcountry takes a lot of what FATMAP had and improves upon it with a better interface and additional overlay layers–with the huge caveat that while global imagery exists, the map is only labeled in North America.

Is the OnX Backcountry App The Best Option?

Of all of these options, OnX Backcountry wins in my eyes. I had used the mobile app and desktop version a little when it first came out nearly five years ago for trip planning and in-the-field navigation, but was bought into some other apps already, so never made it past the limited-functionality free version. On some camping roadtrips, I’ve used OnX Backcountry’s sister app OnX Offroad for navigation and finding remote overnight spots. This fall, I dove a bit deeper into the vastly updated current version of OnX Backcountry, and must say that I’m truly impressed with what the Missoula, Montana-based company has done.

For backcountry skiers in the US and Canada, I’d say the app is almost a direct replacement for FATMAP, offering decent winter 3D imagery (it’s definitely more recent, which is nice, but isn’t available everywhere) in an easy-to-use interface. The map features public routes, curated by OnX, as well as a ton of different icons highlighting weather stations, historic avalanche data, trailheads, campsites, and more.