## What is Summit Bag? Summit Bag is a peak-bagging tool that [automatically identifies the peaks and cols](https://summitbag.com/) you've reached from your Strava activities. Connect your Strava account and Summit Bag checks your rides and runs against a database of over 500,000 geographical features, building a personalized collection of every summit and pass you've crossed. No manual logging. The concept of "peak bagging" [dates back to the 1890s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_bagging) when Sir Hugh Munro created his famous list of Scottish peaks. Summit Bag brings this tradition into the digital age, eliminating the need for notebooks and paper maps by automatically cataloging every summit you reach. ## Key Features **Automatic Peak Detection** Summit Bag checks whether your activity's route passes within 70 metres of a known peak or col, so summits get detected with no manual logging. In the UK and Ireland it draws on the Database of British and Irish Hills plus OpenStreetMap; everywhere else it uses named, height-tagged peaks from OpenStreetMap. The data is refreshed quarterly. **Col Recognition** Beyond peaks, Summit Bag also tracks cols. A col (from the French word for "neck") is [the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col), essentially a mountain pass. These are iconic features in cycling, with famous examples like Col du Tourmalet and Col de la Madeleine from the Tour de France. **Interactive Map & List Views** View your conquered summits on an [interactive map or sortable list](https://raincastle.blog/posts/2023-01-23-Die-etwas-anderen-Begleitapps-zum-Laufen/). See your lifetime of mountain achievements at a glance, or zoom in to explore specific regions. **Activity Comments Integration** Summit Bag can [automatically add the peaks you've bagged to your Strava activity comments](https://raincastle.blog/posts/2023-01-23-Die-etwas-anderen-Begleitapps-zum-Laufen/), letting your followers know which summits you conquered on your ride or run. **Shareable Summit Images** Generate [shareable images of your peak-bagging accomplishments](https://lee-perry.co.uk/microfeed/2023-06-25-summitbag-com) for social media. Show off your climbing achievements on Instagram, Twitter, or in your running/cycling group chats. ## Who It's For Summit Bag is perfect for: - **Trail runners** who want to track the summits they've reached during mountain runs - **Cyclists** who climb mountain passes and want to collect their conquered cols - **Hikers and mountaineers** building a catalog of their summit achievements - **Peak bagging enthusiasts** working through lists like the Munros, Colorado 14ers, or regional peak challenges - **Data-driven athletes** who love seeing their achievements visualized on a map ## What is Peak Bagging? [Peak bagging](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_bagging) (or hill bagging) is the outdoor recreation activity of ascending to the summits of mountains on a defined list. The tradition began in the late 19th century during the Silver Age of Alpinism, when most major peaks had been climbed and mountaineers started creating lists as personal challenges. Famous peak bagging lists include: - **The Munros**: [282 Scottish peaks over 3,000 feet](https://www.advnture.com/features/peak-bagging), compiled by Sir Hugh Munro in the 1890s - **Colorado 14ers**: [53 peaks in Colorado exceeding 14,000 feet](https://www.publiclands.com/blog/a/5-of-our-favorite-peak-bagging-lists) elevation - **Adirondack 46ers**: The 46 highest peaks in New York's Adirondack Mountains - **Seven Summits**: The highest peak on each continent Peak bagging provides motivation to explore new areas, gives structure to your outdoor adventures, and offers a sense of achievement as you work toward completing a list. ## How Summit Bag Compares Unlike standalone peak-bagging apps like [Peakbagger](https://peakbagger.com/) (which has its own database and requires manual logging), Summit Bag focuses on Strava integration and automatic detection. That makes it a good fit for athletes who already track on Strava and want summit tracking added to their existing workflow. It's an independent project, first launched in 2021 and maintained by a solo developer. Sign up for free at [summitbag.com](https://summitbag.com/) and authorize it with Strava. Summit Bag then scans your synced activities automatically, with no manual entry or separate upload. Grant the activity permission when Strava asks. If you skip it, your activities won't show up. Usually it's a permissions issue: you connected Strava but didn't grant Summit Bag permission to view your activities. Fix it under Settings, then Strava Link, which also lets you reconnect if the wrong Strava account is linked. Other causes are a very long activity with a low-detail route line, or a temporary sync glitch, both of which a reprocess usually clears up. Open the activity in Summit Bag and click "Reprocess Activity" under the map. Or rename the activity by a single character in Strava, which prompts Summit Bag to reprocess it. Reprocessing pulls a more detailed route line, which helps when a summit was missed. It checks whether your activity's route passes within 70 metres of a known peak or col, then adds any it finds to your collection automatically. Peak data comes from the Database of British and Irish Hills in the UK and Ireland, and from OpenStreetMap worldwide, refreshed quarterly. Yes, you can sign up and track your peaks and cols for free. There is also a paid premium tier that imports your full Strava history, so you can see every summit you have ever reached rather than just recent ones. Check [summitbag.com](https://summitbag.com/) for the current premium price. Yes. Summit Bag works with any GPS-tracked outdoor activity on Strava. If your activity has GPS data and you reached a summit, Summit Bag will detect it. A col (from French, meaning "neck") is [the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col). Cols are particularly significant in cycling, where famous climbs like Col du Tourmalet and Col d'Aubisque are iconic stages in races like the Tour de France. Summit Bag tracks both peaks and cols. Yes. Summit Bag generates shareable images of your peak-bagging accomplishments that you can post to social media. You can also have peaks automatically added to your Strava activity comments. Summit Bag identifies peaks and cols globally based on geographic databases. Whether you're climbing in the Alps, Rockies, Andes, or your local hills, Summit Bag can detect your summits.