Logging Routes
How to record individual climbs with grades, attempts, and outcomes.
Adding Routes to a Session
Once you have a session, you can start logging routes. Each route represents an individual climb you attempted during the session.
Creating a Route
To add a route to a session:
- Open the session you want to add routes to
- Tap the + Add Route button
- Fill in the route details (most fields are optional)
Route Details
Most fields are optional — log as much or as little detail as you like. Only the grade is required.
Core Fields
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | Yes | The difficulty rating in your preferred system |
| Sent | No | Whether you completed the climb (defaults to yes) |
| Attempts | No | Number of tries (defaults to 1) |
| Name | No | Optional name for the route |
Indoor-Specific Fields
These fields appear for indoor sessions:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Section / Wall | Which area of the gym (e.g., "Cave", "Slab Wall") |
| Hold Colour | The colour of the holds on the route |
Outdoor & Rope Climbing Fields
These fields appear for sport, trad, and outdoor sessions:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Send Type | How you completed the climb (see below) |
| Climb Type | Style of climbing (slab, overhang, crack, etc.) |
| Rope Style | Lead, top rope, or auto belay |
| Pitches | Number of pitches for multi-pitch routes |
Finger Load Tracking
Track the stress on your fingers for injury prevention:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Hold Types | Primary hold types used (crimp, sloper, pocket, etc.) |
| Duration | Estimated time spent on the route |
| Load Intensity | Self-reported intensity (1-10 scale) |
Finger load data helps you monitor training volume and avoid overuse injuries. See the Statistics section for cumulative load tracking.
Grading Systems
Chalky supports all major grading systems:
| Discipline | Systems |
|---|---|
| Bouldering | V-scale, Fontainebleau |
| Sport/Trad | Ewbank, French, YDS, UIAA, British Trad |
You can set your preferred grading system in Settings. Routes will display in your chosen system, but you can enter grades in any system.
Send Types
Send types describe how you completed a route. These are primarily used for outdoor and rope climbing:
| Send Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Onsight | First attempt, no prior knowledge or beta |
| Flash | First attempt, with beta from others |
| Redpoint | Clean send after previous attempts |
| Pinkpoint | Clean send with pre-placed gear (trad) |
| Clean | Completed without falls, may have rested |
| Hangdog | Made it up but took falls or rests |
| Solo | Completed unroped |
Only mark a route as "sent" if you completed it from bottom to top without falls or takes. Be honest with yourself — the journey matters more than the numbers!
Climb Types
For outdoor routes, you can record the style of climbing:
- Slab — Low-angle face climbing
- Vertical — Straight up face climbing
- Overhang — Steeper than vertical
- Roof — Horizontal or near-horizontal
- Crack — Following a crack system
- Face — Climbing on features
- Arête — Outside corner
- Dihedral — Inside corner
- Chimney — Wide crack using body
Hold Types
Track the primary holds used on a route for finger load monitoring:
| Hold Type | Finger Stress |
|---|---|
| Jug | Low |
| Sloper | Moderate |
| Pinch | Moderate |
| Sidepull | Low-Moderate |
| Undercling | Moderate |
| Gaston | Moderate |
| Half Crimp | High |
| Crimp | High |
| Very High | |
| Mono | Extreme |
Attaching Media
Capture photos and videos of your climbs:
- Open the route (tap on it in the session view)
- Tap the camera icon or Add Media
- Take a photo/video or choose from your library
Media is great for:
- Recording beta for projects
- Celebrating sends
- Tracking technique improvements
- Sharing with climbing partners
All media syncs securely to the cloud when you're connected.
Editing and Deleting Routes
Edit a Route
- Tap on the route in the session view
- Make your changes
- Tap Save
Delete a Route
- Swipe left on the route
- Tap Delete
Deleting a route also removes all photos and videos attached to it. This cannot be undone.
Discipline
The discipline (bouldering, sport, trad, etc.) is set at the session level and applies to all routes in that session. You cannot override the discipline for individual routes.
If you need to log routes of different disciplines, create separate sessions.
Next Steps
Now that you're logging routes, learn how to view your statistics to see your progress.