In a move to make climbing beta accessible and safer for everyone, Black Diamond announced that as of yesterday, the company will subsidize the Mountain Project app, free for download by the entire climbing community. Previously priced at $4.99, not only is the the full climbing database now openly available, but you can expect the app to get better with more features under the ongoing support of Black Diamond.
Mountain Project is probably the most comprehensive online climbing database, featuring route beta for over 112,000 climbs at over 19,000 climbing areas worldwide. The mobile app allows you to download route information (location, description, images, and rating) on your phone and access it anytime, even without a cell signal.
Although Mountain Project is by far one of the most popular apps used by climbers, a few other useful ones to consider are as follows:
Climb It (free): Although heavily Canada focused at the moment, this useful app enables you to track, save, and share your sends. The database currently contains over 6,900 rock climbing routes across Canada, the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, and El Potrero Chico, Mexico. The built in grade conversion is handy for those facing foreign route selection.
Rakkup (free with in-app guidebook purchase requirements): Produced in partnership with Outdoor Research, this app gives you access to an entire bookshelf of climbing guide books, even in no service areas. For those climbs with long and complicated approaches, the app delivers turn by turn trail navigation to get you safely to the base.
Climbing Weather (free): This app features up-to-date weather forecasts for over 300 climbing areas throughout the United States. Whether bouldering in Joshua Tree or big-walling in Zion, this app let’s you know when to pull down and when to bail.