I made a goal this year... rather unlike me, actually. My goal is to climb over 100,000 vertical feet for 2011. I've been really good at keeping track, but the season is early and the tools are new. You've seen my lovely elevation profiles generated by GPS and Topofusion, but I can't seem to wrap my head around the huge discrepancies between the two.
Usually, if my GPS records 1000 ft of what Garmin calls "Total Ascent" then Topofusion's climbing analysis wants to make it 2300. Who to believe? Thus far, I've been using a complicated algorithm involving averaging, subjective effort, and beer to determine Total Ascent. I refuse to be so optimistic as to believe Topofusion when it says my climb up Grant Creek was 2000 vertical feet... that's crazy talk... but I'm also having a hard time with the GPS which loses 200 feet of elevation at a trailside photo-op from time to time.
The weird bit is that all of the options in Topofusion's Climbing Analysis window give about the same percent error, regardless of parameters... so what makes DEM elevation values turn me into a superhero climber?
Maybe I'll have to keep relying on intuition, averaging, perceived exertion, and beer... you see, this algorithm isn't as crazy as it sounds... I'm pretty sure I average between 2 and 3 bottles of the hoppy stuff per 1000 feet of climbing... leaves me with a percent error of about 30%... same as Topofusion... go figure.
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