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I’ve been a climber for six years, and I resent using Mountain Project. It’s so incredibly slow and clunky on every device I use it on, and the UX is pretty ter
by enraged_camel 4y ago
I’ve been a climber for six years, and I resent using Mountain Project. It’s so incredibly slow and clunky on every device I use it on, and the UX is pretty terrible. It takes forever to find the types of routes I’m interested in, and even then finding which route is which, and where it lies in relation to others, is a fool’s errand because you need to read poorly written descriptions and browse through bad photos uploaded by users. This is basically why I buy guidebooks for climbing spots I go to whenever they are available.
At this point the comments on routes are the only thing I find value in. When you figure out what you want to climb, browsing through two decades of comments can be useful for figuring out things like how to approach it, what to pay attention to, etc.
- cassianoleal 4y agoLikewise. I tried using the Mountain Project a few times and just gave up due to the clunkiness. I now use a combination of the RockFax app and printed guidebooks. The latter are generally a better experience but comments on the app sometimes come with up-to-date info that helps (a foothold that cracked and raised the grade, a rusty bolt, whatever).
- racnid 4y agoI like Mountain Project sitting at my desk but physical guidebooks lend themselves well to the half hiking involved in most climbing expeditions (despite the weight of a physical book). There's just something about being able to tick off routes and hold the book upside down to orient yourself that I don't think translates well to an app still. The book writers seem to put more effort into good maps and diagrams too. They're fascinating, for a good utilitarian example check out The Dixie Caggers Atlas by Chris Watford. For pure art Southern Nevada Bouldering is just beautiful. I'm sure others may have some good recommendations.
- dangerlibrary 4y agoAaron Huey's Ten Sleep Canyon guidebooks are a lot of fun. I have an older version - Lies and Propaganda from Ten Sleep Canyon - that was invaluable when I was climbing there but is likely now hopelessly out of date.
- vanattab 4y agoDo you cache the data? I don't find it that slow as long as I have download the area data before hand. I have pretty spotty cell coverage at RRG where I typically climb so I download all the route data in advance and it seems fine to me?
- falsenapkin 4y agoGenerally agree. The books are better to have anyway for no-battery access and to financially support the community. MP is important for last minute access/safety info though.