Rockfax Digital brings together all the Rockfax climbing information with UKC logbooks and presents it into a user-friendly package for use on Apple iOS devices (Android version to follow).

The heart of the Rockfax Digital is the crag and route information which is downloaded by way of paid in-App purchases for individual crags, or bundles of crags, in 'Areas' which correspond roughly to printed guidebooks. There is a free sample crag for each Area and some of these are quite extensive which enables you to get a really good impression of what the App is like, without shelling out any money.

Rockfax Digital itself is a free download and incredibly useful in its own right. It contains a detailed crag map linked to the UKClimbing Crags database (currently with basic information and routes lists for around 20,000 crags worldwide). The map also displays all the 4,000+ Listings from the UKClimbing Directory of Climbing Walls, Outdoor Shops, Climbing Clubs, outdoor-specific Accommodation and Instructors and Guides amongst others.

All the data in Rockfax Digital is linked to the UKClimbing Logbook system so that you can log your ascents directly to your own UKC Logbook while at the crag. This link also means that you can see photos from the UKC photos database of the route and see route information comments uploaded to the Rockfax database over the years.

Current Areas Covered

Ariege, Dolomites, Dorset (Sport and Trad), Dorset Bouldering, Eastern Grit, Gower Sport Climbing, Lofoten, Northern Limestone, North Wales Climbs, Peak Limestone, Pembroke, Siurana, West Country Climbs

Following on soon after

Costa Blanca, Kalymnos, Clwyd (with the new book), Mallorca (with the new book)

In preparation

El Chorro, Haute Provence, Cote d'Azur, Languedoc Roussillon, Western Grit, Northern England

Technical Specifications

• Apple iOS device - iPhone 4s or newer, running iOS 8 or newer. iPad 2 or newer, running iOS 8 or newer.
• Data storage - Between 250MB and 750MB per area. As a rough guide, around 1GB is required for 20-25 crags.

We have many plans for the future including an Android version, delivering Area (full book) versions of the climbing data, more linking with UKC logbooks including grade and star voting, more new 'App-only' information, more navigation information - basically, the possibilities are vast!

Download Rockfax Digital now from the App Store

Rockfax Digital History

"Ten years from now, the climbers of Britain will be using hand-held mobiles to dial into web sites with their subscription, and viewing the crag in front of them. There may well be books still but for day to day, updated usage, the predominant method will be via a web site."
- Alan James, Guidebook Conference, Rheged, September 2002

Rockfax Digital is the end product of almost 13 years of work on the Rockfax and UKClimbing web sites starting way back in 2002 when the first Rockfax Route Database was created, which led in turn to the UKC Logbook system in 2005. The intention even way back then was to deliver information to devices, although at the time we didn't know what shape those devices would take. Thanks to Apple we now have the mobile devices that we are all familiar with and the app infrastructure to create and deliver sophisticated Apps and data to users.

The technical development in the Rockfax App has been done by Stephen Horne who set about creating a product 3 years ago that would do justice to all the magnificent work of the Rockfax authors. After a long incubation period, and a few false dawns, the finished product is now available. The technical work on the web sites has been done by Rockfax and UKC technical developers Nick Smith and Paul Phillips over the years, with Martin McKenna now involved in developing the Android version.