ANCHOR FIRST

Map Pin Legend

Filtering the Map

Tap the Filter button next to the search bar to open the filter sheet. You can show only Crags, only Canyons, or Both. Filter by logged access, visited status, approach difficulty, anchor type, canyon difficulty ratings, and permit requirements.

Area Dropdown

The All Areas dropdown lets you drill down into regions and sub-regions. Areas with canyons are highlighted in blue. Tap a crag or canyon name in the list to fly directly to it on the map.

Logging Access Info

Tap any orange or green pin to open the crag card, then tap + Log top access info. You'll need to be signed in. All submissions go through admin review before appearing publicly.

Canyon Cards

Canyon cards show ACA difficulty ratings (Technical, Water, Time, Risk), rappel counts, permit requirements, and conditions. Tap ✏ Edit access info to submit corrections or add missing data.

Trip Log

Tap Mark visited on any crag or canyon card to add it to your trip log. View your log with the 📋 Trip log button. Your log is stored locally on your device.

Offline Maps

Tap Offline Areas to download maps for a specific area. Draw a box on the map, then download. Maps are stored on your device for use without cell service. Re-download after app updates for best performance.

Reporting Issues

Use the 🚩 Report button on any crag or canyon card to flag incorrect info, wrong pin locations, or other issues. Reports go directly to the admin queue.

Contact

Questions or feedback? Email us at admin@anchorfirst.rocks

Our Mission

Anchor First exists to answer the one question that climbing resources consistently leave out: can you actually get to the top of this route to rig an anchor?

We built this tool for top-rope soloists, rappellers, and canyoneers — the climbers who need top access, not just beta on the route itself.

What We Cover

Anchor First includes over 21,000 verified crag locations across the United States and growing canyon data from around the world. For each crag we track approach difficulty, trailhead access, anchor options and hazards. For canyons we track approach info, rappel counts and longest rappels, difficulty ratings and permit requirements.

Our Data Sources

Crags — sourced from OpenBeta, a community-maintained open climbing database.

Canyons — sourced from RopeWiki, the community wiki for canyoneering. Data is licensed under CC BY-SA.

All access information is community-submitted and reviewed by our admin team before going live.

Community Driven

Anchor First grows through contributions from climbers and canyoneers like you. Every top access entry, condition report, photo, and correction makes this resource more useful for everyone. If you know something, share it.

A Note on Safety

Everything on Anchor First is community-submitted and unverified. Always confirm conditions, anchor options, and access yourself before committing to a rope. This tool is a starting point, not a substitute for judgment.

Contact & Feedback

Found a bug? Have a suggestion? Want to report something? Reach us at admin@anchorfirst.rocks

Anchor First is an independent project. We are not affiliated with OpenBeta, RopeWiki, or any land management agency.