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Site update: mountain cell coverage map (Ala-Archa, Khibiny, Kodar, Elbrus), more accurate route difficulty calculation, infinite scroll, print-friendly output, and a Share button.

The website has been updated once again. Cellular Coverage Map Communication in the mountains is very important. It is not only an opportunity to post photos from the route on social media, but also serious assistance in rescue operations. An experimental feature has been added to view an assessment of cellular network availability in the area. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive database of cell towers in the world, so it is impossible to calculate coverage availability for the entire world. However, geodata moderators now have the ability to add cell towers to our database, which has made it possible to at least partially improve data coverage for the regions: Ala-Archa and neighboring Alamedin, Arshan in the Tunkinsky Goltsy, Khibiny, eastern Kodar, and the Elbrus area. This is reference information. We are not responsible for data accuracy. But it would be great if we could gradually supplement the tower database and get a more accurate picture of coverage. For the geeks, here's how it works: the idea is based on ray tracing. We have the tower coordinates, their approximate height, and terrain. Using this data, one can build a map of shadows from the towers. Well, everything that's not shadow—there's coverage there. Well, and of course there are limits to signal propagation. For different technologies these are completely different distances: 5G and 2G differ by more than an order of magnitude. Refined Algorithm for Route and Section Difficulty Assessment

23-year-old guide Temur Kurdiani made the first solo ascent of the mixed 5A/M5+ route to the 4,869-meter summit, tackling 80-degree ice and vertical granite in just 4 hours.

According to information from mountain.ru and planetmountain.com: 23-year-old guide and alpinist Temur Kurdiani completed a solo first ascent of a route. The line follows steep, mixed terrain, and the climber graded the difficulty at 5A/M5+. Starting at 4000 meters, the ascent climbs the wall to 4700, where it joins the classic route all the way to the summit at 4869 m. The climb took just 4 hours, despite encountering sections of 80-degree ice and vertical granite. ![](https://summitx.info/media/1/lweRCxxrjJ6xkntiaPFoHsQenFkIyRwP

Refined the T-route difficulty calculation algorithm: adjusted ratings for different rock systems, snow and ice. Added transparency regarding how ascents affect ratings, plus improved profile and editor design.

Recently, the website implemented the ability to add your own ascents. These are used to refine the difficulty/hardness/danger of routes, as well as to build user ratings. The feature received a response from the community: many added their ascents, thanks to which I got the opportunity to test the ratings on real data. Thanks to Igor Dementyev, Alexey Pototsky, Dmitry Trukhatkin, Natalia T., Dmitry Dobrokhotov and many others! Refinement of the route difficulty calculation algorithm Thanks to your data, I found several important flaws in the algorithm and fixed them. The T grade algorithm became more accurate in several places: All rock grading systems are accounted for. Previously, only UIAA was calculated, while grades in French, YDS and Ewbank were silently lost. Snow 30-35° is now aligned with real difficulty. Previously it was counted almost as UIAA III. Aid climbing is better separated from snow and ice. A2 is now noticeably harder than AI4. Long easy sections no longer "complicate" the route technically: 100 m of walking snow and 100 m of WI4 now add completely different contributions. The difficulties of all routes for which ascents were specified have been recalculated. In the foreseeable future, 3-4 more clarifying changes to the algorithm will happen. It is not yet perfect, and there is work to be done. Transparency of ascent contributions to ratings

Essentially a first ascent. Rather than following the ridge through bergschrunds, we kept significantly to the right, almost hugging the rocks. The crux was an 8-meter ice wall at about 80°.

Ice section length: 680 m Ice slope angle: 55–60 degrees 80 m traverse across a snow slope, then a couloir with broken terrain 120 m long, angle 40–50 degrees. The climbing is not difficult, but delicate, as the terrain is heavily broken and protection is unreliable. In winter the couloir is filled with snow - deep trail breaking uphill. Then turn left onto rock. Grade III rock 90 m, angle 50–60 degrees. Protection on passive gear, belay stations on ledges. The climbing is not difficult, but delicate, as the terrain is broken. Move from the couloir right to left in the direction of the summit. Descent via rappel bolts to the upper snowfield of the Korona Glacier, below the bergschrund, and then on foot to the Korona hut.

The route starts from the upper cushion of the Uchitel glacier along the north face of Semenova Tian-Shanskogo peak to the right of the icefall. There are quite large ice crevasses on the approach to the bergschrund. From the bergschrund, the first 4.5 pitches are easy 55-degree ice until reaching a large ice ledge. From the ledge, another 5 pitches of the same ice lead to a small ledge before the rock section. The final part of the route begins along a 20 m rock couloir and then exits left onto a rock ridge. In the couloir and on the ridge, the terrain is heavily broken, the steepness is 40–50 degrees, Grade III rock (5b fr), protection using natural features. The section length is 80 m. Descent from the route, depending on conditions, is either via 3A Erapunova or via the ascent route.

SummitX has introduced four new climber ratings: Mastery, Explorer, Current Form, and Altitude. Automatically calculated from logged ascents, these metrics provide an objective evaluation of different facets of your mountaineering experience.

User ratings have been added to the SummitX website. Now, your completed climbs automatically build not only your personal history but also several ratings: mastery, explorer rating, current form, and altitude rating. Ratings are recalculated once a day, at night. Therefore, if you added or updated climbs today, the changes will not appear instantly but after the next recalculation. User rating page: Detailed user analytics: Global analytics and leaderboards: Why ratings are needed

SummitX has launched a climbing history section: users describe route segments, building a living database with current difficulty ratings instead of outdated grades. Import from ФАР is available, with all fields optional.

A major new section has been added to SummitX: now every user can keep their own ascent history. This isn't just a "where I've been" list: from user ascents, a living route database gradually begins to grow. With current assessments and descriptions of sections, a history of changes, and a proper classification mechanism that doesn't depend on one person, an old table, or a random subjective assessment. The full list of ascents is already available here: . In a user profile, the list looks like this: (I've only just started filling out my own list). Rather broad search options for ascents are offered: Why add your ascents at all At first glance, it might seem like just a personal diary. Well, you climbed a route, wrote down the date, checked a box. But it's all a bit cooler than that. I'm trying to create not just a list of routes, but a system where routes are gradually refined by the climbers themselves. The more people add their ascents and describe route sections, the more accurate—and therefore more useful—the database becomes. Soviet/Russian route categories are useful, but they are very coarse. One 3B category can hide completely different things. Two routes of the same difficulty under the old classification can differ radically: one short but with a hard crux; another long but technically uniform; a third dangerous because of seracs; a fourth easy in movement but with almost no decent protection.