VER 1.0 // GREAT BRITAIN // SUMMIT VERIFICATION
[VERIFICATION PROCESS] Northing performs a post-hoc audit of GPS activity data. It reads coordinate records from completed activities, cross-references them against summit positions, and writes verified ascents to a private ledger. It does not run in real time and does not require the app to be active during an activity.
01. Process Overview
[01 CONNECT]
Authorise Strava via OAuth, or upload a GPX or FIT file from your device. Northing requests read-only access to activity data. No write permissions.
[02 VERIFY]
Northing reads the raw GPS coordinate stream from each activity and audits it against all summit positions in the database. Verification tolerance: 200 metres horizontal.
[03 RECORD]
Verified and unverified ascents are written to your private ledger with date, summit name, elevation gain, and activity source. No data is shared or published.
02. Accepted Data Sources
- [STRAVA] Strava sync. Authorise via OAuth. Northing imports completed activities from your Strava account. Post-hoc — activities are processed after they have been uploaded to Strava, not during.
- [GPX] GPX file upload. Standard GPS Exchange Format. Compatible with Garmin, Suunto, Wahoo, Coros, Apple Watch, and all major platforms. Upload directly within the app.
- [FIT] FIT file upload. Flexible and Interoperable Data Transfer format. Produced natively by Garmin devices and other ANT+ compatible hardware. Upload directly within the app.
All three sources are treated equally. There is no source hierarchy and no preference for one format over another.
03. Coordinate Matching
[METHOD] Each GPS coordinate sample in an activity is compared against the known Ordnance Survey position of every summit in the database. Summit positions are stored as WGS84 latitude/longitude pairs converted from Ordnance Survey National Grid references.
[TOLERANCE] If any coordinate sample in the activity falls within 200 metres of a summit position, the ascent is marked as verified. The 200-metre tolerance is a horizontal measurement. It is fixed and not user-adjustable.
[UNVERIFIED] If no coordinate sample passes within 200 metres of a summit, the ascent is recorded as unverified. The raw activity data is retained. No manual override is available. Verification is determined by the GPS record.
[MULTI-SUMMIT] A single activity can verify multiple summits. If a ridge walk or multi-summit route passes within tolerance of several peaks, each is recorded as a separate verified entry in the ledger.
04. Elevation Calculation
[BAROMETRIC] Where barometric pressure data is available in the activity file, Northing uses it to calculate elevation gain. Barometric pressure is a more accurate indicator of vertical change than GPS altitude under normal conditions.
[GPS FALLBACK] If barometric data is not present in the activity file, GPS altitude is used as a fallback. GPS altitude is subject to atmospheric and geometric error. This is noted in the ledger entry.
[SMOOTHING] Raw barometric and GPS samples are retained unsmoothed. Northing does not apply post-processing algorithms to inflate or deflate elevation figures.
05. The Verification Ledger
[CONTENTS] Each ledger entry records: summit name, peak list, verification status (verified/unverified), date of activity, elevation gain, and activity source.
[PRIVACY] The ledger is private by default. There is no public profile, no leaderboard, and no social feed. Your data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256).
[HISTORICAL] Archive subscribers receive full historical synchronisation of eligible Strava activity history. Registry tier provides a 1-month window from first sync baseline, then real-time synchronisation for all future activities.
06. Scope Boundaries
- [NO NAVIGATION] Northing does not provide routes, directions, or any form of navigation assistance.
- [NO REAL-TIME] Northing does not track your location during an activity. It processes completed activity data only.
- [NO SOCIAL] Northing has no social features. There are no followers, no shared profiles, and no public statistics.
- [NO MANUAL OVERRIDE] Verification cannot be manually added or removed. The record reflects the GPS data.
- [GB ONLY] Coverage is restricted to Great Britain — England, Scotland, and Wales. Ireland and Northern Ireland are currently excluded.