Expedition distances

Upload a GPX track, choose the significant locations to measure between, then generate a PDF report with travelled vs direct distances for each leg — ready to attach to a PECS submission.

About PECS distance rules

PECS’s standardised method of recording total distance is the tallying of camp-to-camp intervals, including start and end points.

If your route includes a significant pivot point (90ºS, 90ºN, Pole of Inaccessibility etc.) this waypoint may be included if it falls between camps. Other than a single pivot point and start and end points, no other non-camp points are permissible.

For the full criteria, see the PECS distance ratification guidelines.

PECS submission guidelines

Preparing a file for submission to PECS.

  1. Use your expedition name as your file name, e.g. CentenaryAntarcticaCrossing.gpx.
  2. Give each waypoint in your GPX the following details (or use the CSV template below to build the GPX):
    • Name — “Start”, “Camp 1”, “Camp 2”, “South Pole”, “Camp 51”, “End” etc.
    • Description — use recognisable names where relevant, e.g. Hercules Inlet, Geographic South Pole etc. Leave blank if it’s a camp.
    • Type — for all campsites use “camp”. For all others use “waypoint”.
    • Latitude
    • Longitude
    • Date
    • Time (optional, UTC)
  3. The tool uses the WGS 84 Decimal Degrees system (e.g. -89.892654, -58.518705). To convert from D.M.S or D.M.M use an online converter, e.g. applications.pgc.umn.edu/convert.
  4. If your route is characterised by two distinct sectors (e.g. to the Pole, from the Pole) you may include the pivot point (e.g. North Pole, South Pole, Pole of Inaccessibility etc.) as a waypoint if it falls between camps. Other than your start, end, camps and single pivot point, no other waypoints are permissible.
  5. The time column is preferred, but not mandatory. All times should be in UTC timezone.
  6. Your file must be uploaded as a GPX or KML file. A file prepared in Excel or CSV can be converted to GPX using the built-in CSV → GPX converter in Step 1 below.
1

Upload your track

Drop the GPX from your tracker or GPS - we read its waypoints and full track line. Nothing leaves your browser. No GPX? Build one from a spreadsheet with the CSV → GPX converter below.

Restore a .distancecheck.json file shared by someone else.
No GPX yet? Build one from a CSV

Planning your camps in a spreadsheet? Download the template, fill in one row per significant location (Start, each camp, an optional pole pivot, End) and set each row’s Type to camp or waypoint, then convert it to a GPX right here. Use WGS 84 decimal degrees (e.g. -89.892654, -58.518705) and ISO dates in UTC (YYYY-MM-DD, HH:MM). The time column is preferred but optional; include it if you want to preview the route in this tool.

2

Choose significant locations

Tick the locations to measure between, including your start and end. See About PECS distance rules above for which points are permissible.

Load a GPX to see annotated waypoints.
Add a reference track for comparison (optional)

Overlay a reference track on the result map for comparison. Use a published ZeroSixZero map, or upload a GPX file. Leave blank to skip.

If your route was tracked using ZeroSixZero, submit your Username and Map Name to load your ZeroSixZero track for comparison. You can also upload a GPX file directly as the reference track if you don’t have a published ZeroSixZero map.

or upload a GPX