8a and Vertical-Life updates

Last week we reached a first milestone in our efforts of unifying 8a and Vertical-Life. All routes in the Vertical-Life app are now synced with their 8a siblings. This means that when you use the app to check out topos, you can see all the ascents from 8a, and when you use 8a, you’ll notice significantly cleaned up data on the matched crags (marked by coloured pins). Next up are synchronised ascents and logbooks between the app and the web, with the ultimate goal being a better service on a single platform.

Thanks to our team and 170 moderators, we have significantly improved the data quality on 8a in numerous countries, making it easier than ever to find the best routes for your next trip. As part of this, we have introduced the ability to search by sector in the global search. If you would like to join as a moderator, sign up here and we will onboard you! We've also made several changes to the gallery. The latest update is the ability to upload indoor climbing images. This will be launched in earnest in a few weeks with a big photo contest. Stay tuned for more details! We’re working on bringing gyms and competition climbing to 8a too, making it a place for all climbers while keeping its core values. We've also improved the overall performance of 8a, so the site loads much faster.

On the Vertical-Life app, we've improved the navigation between routes, crags and collections, making it easier to find all the content in the app, and tweaked core features like offline content to make them more stable. Everything rock-related has been given a facelift, with the collections getting a new map and crag filtering options in the latest update (iOS only, Android coming soon).

We'll try to keep you updated on a more regular basis, so if you have any feedback or comments, let us know!