Methodology

Where our data comes from, and what it cannot tell you

TrekGuard makes safety-relevant claims, so the inputs behind them should be checkable. This page lists every external source the app and this site rely on, what each is used for, and the limits of each one.

No forecast model, elevation dataset or alert feed can describe the conditions at your feet. Everything below is an input to a decision that stays yours, taken with local guides, lodge advice and what you can actually see.

Weather and forecasts

Mountain forecasts come from numerical weather models, not from sensors on the trail. Model grids are far coarser than Himalayan terrain, so a valley and the ridge above it can share one forecast cell.

Open-Meteo Forecast API

Open-Meteo

Primary
Used for
Primary forecast: current conditions, hourly and daily temperature, precipitation, wind and weather codes used across trek verdicts and route risk.
What it cannot tell you
Model output on a grid of several kilometres. It cannot resolve a single pass, gully or lee slope, and trace precipitation amounts are the least reliable part of the signal.
open-meteo.com CC BY 4.0, free for non-commercial and commercial use

MET Norway Locationforecast 2.0

Norwegian Meteorological Institute

Fallback
Used for
Fallback forecast when Open-Meteo is unavailable or too slow, so a weather panel degrades rather than disappearing.
What it cannot tell you
A different model with different biases, so switching sources can change the forecast. It carries no apparent-temperature field, which is derived locally instead.
api.met.no NLOD / CC BY 4.0

Terrain elevation

Terrain elevation anchors the altimeter when barometric and GPS readings drift. These are digital elevation models built from satellite data, not surveyed spot heights.

Open-Meteo Elevation API

Open-Meteo

Primary
Used for
Primary terrain lookup for a coordinate, used as an anchor for altitude estimates.
What it cannot tell you
Digital elevation models smooth sharp terrain. On a narrow ridge or in a deep gorge the modelled ground height can differ from where you are standing.
open-meteo.com Based on Copernicus DEM

OpenTopoData (SRTM 30 m)

OpenTopoData

Fallback
Used for
Fallback terrain lookup when the primary elevation service does not answer.
What it cannot tell you
SRTM has known voids and reduced accuracy in steep high-mountain terrain, which is exactly the terrain that matters most here.
www.opentopodata.org Public domain (NASA SRTM)

Open-Elevation

Open-Elevation

Fallback
Used for
Additional fallback terrain lookup.
What it cannot tell you
Community-run service with variable availability and no uptime guarantee.
open-elevation.com Open data

Road and hazard alerts

Road status for trailhead access comes from Nepal government systems. These publish when an incident is reported and logged, so an unreported blockage will not appear.

BIPAD Portal alert API

NDRRMA / Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of Nepal

Primary
Used for
Live road closure and hazard alerts, matched to the highway corridors that serve each trekking region.
What it cannot tell you
Reflects incidents that have been reported to and published by the authorities. Absence of an alert is not confirmation that a road is open.
bipadportal.gov.np Government of Nepal public data

DoR Navigate road safety advisories

Department of Roads, Nepal / RIMES

Reference
Used for
District-level rainfall and road safety advisories used to corroborate the alert feed.
What it cannot tell you
Advisory in nature, issued at district level rather than for a specific road section.
www.dor.gov.np Government of Nepal public data

Route geometry and itineraries

Route lines are traced from GPS tracks that real trekkers recorded and published. Itineraries come from TrekGuard's own trek dataset, the same one the mobile app ships.

Recorded GPX tracks

Individual trekkers

Primary
Used for
The route line and elevation profile shown on each trek page, simplified for display but derived only from recorded track points.
What it cannot tell you
A track records one person's walk on one day. It may include detours or GPS error, may not match the current trail, and its barometric elevations can differ from surveyed heights by tens of metres. Tracks that do not match the published itinerary are labelled or withheld.
www.wikiloc.com Varies by track

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap contributors

Reference
Used for
Base map tiles behind the route preview on this site.
What it cannot tell you
Trail coverage in remote Nepal is uneven and edited by volunteers.
www.openstreetmap.org Open Database License (ODbL)

Freshness

How we label road and hazard status

A safety status is only as good as the moment it was taken. Each road gateway on this site carries one of three labels, and an observation that has outlived its usefulness is withdrawn rather than repeated.

Confirmed live

The government feed answered during this page load and its reading is what you see.

Last verified on a date

The feed could not be reached, so a dated human-verified observation is shown along with the date it was made.

Needs re-checking

The dated observation has passed the point where it can still be trusted, so no status is asserted and you are pointed to the official source instead.

Clinical basis

The altitude scoring behind the AMS self-check

The altitude self-check implements a published consensus score. It is a structured way to record how you feel - it is not a diagnosis, and it does not replace medical advice or descent.

2018 Lake Louise Acute Mountain Sickness Score

The AMS self-check scores four self-reported items - headache, gastrointestinal symptoms, fatigue or weakness, and dizziness - each 0 to 3, for a total of 0 to 12. AMS is reported only when headache scores at least 1 and the total is at least 3: 3-5 mild, 6-9 moderate, 10-12 severe.

The 1991 sleep-disturbance item was removed in the 2018 revision because sleep is disturbed at altitude in almost everyone, and it is deliberately excluded from the total here.

Roach RC, Hackett PH, Oelz O, et al. The 2018 Lake Louise Acute Mountain Sickness Score. High Altitude Medicine & Biology. 2018;19(1):4-6.

View the reference

Track credits

Who recorded the route lines

Published route geometry is traced from GPS tracks recorded and shared by individual trekkers. Each route page credits the platform and contributor for its own track.

Wikiloc5 routes

Where a recorded track does not match the itinerary it is filed under - because it covers a longer variant, or only part of the route - the route page says so, and a track that covers too little of the route is not drawn at all. See the route directory for what is published.

Where a track names the person who recorded it, they are credited on the route page. If you recorded one of these tracks and would like it credited differently or removed, email support@trekguard.app.

Planning aid - not a guide or rescue service. GPX lines, checklists, forecasts, and altitude readouts support your judgment. Trails, weather, permits, and illness can change faster than any app. Download offline map packs before signal ends; live map tiles and fresh weather need network. SMS SOS sharing needs cellular texting - not satellite.

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