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jdorje wrote:The topographic data is probably from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), which is pretty accurate though low resolution.
But then it would need a secondary source for hydro data. For north korea, I don't know what that source would be.
For international maps, I don't think OSM can be beaten sadly. I know their topo maps come from SRTM data; dunno about the hydro data though. Looks like there is a road to the summit.
Google uses SRTM for a lot, but not all, of their Digital Elevation Models. They basically pick and choose whatever they think will give the best results. SRTM is accurate to about 30 meters between 54 degrees south and 60 degrees north, except in areas of VERY high terrain. But I am not sure if Google has incorporated this latest iteration into their maps yet, since it just came out towards the end of last year. If they haven't it would be 30 meters in the US and 90 everywhere else, and likely worse the closer you get to the poles. Openstreet mostly uses the same data sets I believe. Of course its quite possible they put a lot more work into the details of their maps. Hydro data sets are available, but again I can't say for sure which one Google uses. Although to my knowledge there are not many options available. My company has a good amount of public imagery available over the area, but I just checked and there are only a couple of recent images that are any good, and one of those is only in Pan so its not the prettiest to look at. The weather in the area is a bit challenging in regards to collecting pretty pictures. Here is a shot from 2013, not the highest quality but I can't go around giving our good stuff out for free
heaven.JPG (340.68 KiB) Viewed 3013 times
"I found that nothing truly matters, that you cannot find for free." - The Gaslight Anthem
There is a road to near the summit, the true summit looks like a bump off to the side, and Kim is not on it in his pics.
Look at the Peakbagger link I posted yesterday, there is a pic from the ground with some people walking and a small bump behind them. I think that is the true summit, there is a one sentence TR on Peakbagger that a Norwegian climber posted stating "2 meters scrambling, the rest walking along a road/trail". Not sure how he accessed the peak though (I don't think DPRK likes Norway either), maybe he came in from China.
"We want the unpopular challenge. We want to test our intellect!" - Snapcase
"You are not what you own" - Fugazi
"Life's a mountain not a beach" - Fortune Cookie I got at lunch the other day
Hungry Jack wrote:I think that pic was faked, like the moon landings and all that stuff in Willy Wonka.
No way! This was on the internet. If it was on the internet it must be true. K-Jong rocked it in dress shoes! Yeah, baby! Next we'll be seeing those boats popping up at REI. And they won't be cheap.
- I didn't say it was your fault. I said I was blaming you.
He looks like those people on mount evans posing on the summit, after "hiking it" from their car at the top parking lot.
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. -Nelson Mandela
Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called Ego. -Nietzsche
Life is too short to pay full retail for outdoor gear!
"God has cared for these trees, saved them from draught, disease, avalanches, and a thousand straining, leveling tempasts and floods; but he cannot save them from fools; only Uncle Sam can do that."--John Muir
Steve Climber wrote:I think you're all missing the point...
"Kim Jong-Il, who ruled until his death in 2011, scored 11 holes-in-one the first time he ever played golf"
His dad is the real hero.
Dude I was crying when I read that, why 11?? I mean did he intentionally miss a few shots, or does he suck at some of the holes or what? It's sooo hard to be infallible.
It was a 9 hole course.
I am unable to walk away from the mountain without climbing it. An unclimbed mountain tugs at my consciousness with the eternal weight of time itself. Until I've pressed my face into it's alpine winds, hugged it's ancient granite walls, and put it's weathered summit beneath my heal I'm unable to resist it's attraction.Knowing nature gives the mountain more time than she gives us adds urgency to the obsession. As has been said before; the mountain doesn't care.
What you guys don't understand is that North Korean mountains are way more rugged than Colorado ones, and there is no way he would have climbed the 'normal route' that the rest of those on the summit climbed. The Glorious Leader undoubtedly did the Class 6 route up what is now known as the 'Kim Jong Un Face'. Unfortunately, the photographers did not have the skill to stay with him.
