stele1 is a foundation for organizing and publishing climbing data
stele1 has a two-part core: a visual editor and a stable, transparent format for your data.
The editor has a map, search, and pages for managing each route, area, approach, photo, etc. You enter routes, areas, and photos in the editor without writing code.
The format is the source of truth: portable, inspectable, and built to outlast any single tool.
Supporting tools build on top: area operations lets you split and merge stele1 projects. importers (e.g., from Mountain Project URLs), exporters build static sites, PDFs, Word docs, or Excel spreadsheets from your data.
The editor lowers the contributor barrier, and the structured data raises the reuse ceiling. This core stays small so the ecosystem can develop naturally in any direction.
stele1 is a standard for climbing data
the goals of the standard are simple. It's …
- approachable — climbers with various backgrounds don't need to learn new software
- simple — straightforward data is easier to understand, maintain, and build upon
- durable — time-tested formats guarantee the data will be just as accessible in 25 years.
The documentation is comprehensive
The 1 in stele1 is a version lock. There will never be breaking changes.
Familiar data
stele1 uses familiar formats that have been widely deployed for decades. stele1 defines folders, JSON files, and images.
a complete solution
for local areas
open the editor and get started immediately with a solid base for documentation.
a solid core
for large projects
want to build the next open climbing platform? stele1 offers a time-tested model for climb data you can jump straight to work on and start work on competitive features.
Stable data for a changing community
Climbers will always benefit from climbing guides, but guides don't always stay available.
Organizations Fall Short
We're in the 2020s and recently MountainProject confirmed that they didn't want community-contributed content reused by the community. A once dominant platform, RockClimbing.com, recently fell into disrepair. And an attempt to bring back the shuttered Dr. Topo has run out of steam.
Climbers Retire
Recently (early 2020s), on the west coast, ClimbingToposOfSanDiego.com was abandoned and across the country HarpersFerryClimbing.com succumbed to the same fate. Individual climbers shouldn't need to single-handedly prop-up community guides.
For our community to always have access to the info, we'll need to keep the info itself.
A stele1 would have been easily used 20 years ago: it' very likely that stele1 projects will be equally accessible in another 20 years.
- manage routes, areas, photos, approaches, etc.
- draw proper topos where the lines on photos actually link climbs
- lean heavily on gps coordinates for climbs and areas to help with searching and organizing areas
- maintain control of your climbing data
- works off your own computer so loading and saving is instantaneous
- the folder structure allows syncing across devices via iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive
- works with version control if you're so inclined (git, fossil, etc)
- straightforward, durable storage for climbing data
- for human-sized projects: optimized for knowledgable climbers maintaining an area they know well
- simple format lets you work how you want
- addresses commmunity strengths (and weaknesses) / built to last
A Tool to Organize and Publish
In short, stele1 helps you organize climbing info, share it, and generate guidebooks.
Document a Climbing Area
The tedious, error prone part of building a guidebook is collecting the info and keeping it organized. stele1 helps you keep the record of a climbind area consistent, and organized, consistent, and complete.
Kickstart a Guide(book)
Generate a jumping-off-point in any format you want. stele1 will handle all the repetitive, tedious work. The creative work is left to the author.