[AndyR]

By the way, I've got some V8+ t-shirts printed up, if Robinson and Pearson would like to help spread the word - remember there is no such thing as bad publicity...

Obviously, I'd love to, but I don't feel I'm worthy of promoting such a fine idea  

[Bubba]

Come on' Yorkshiregrit, you know you want one really  

[dave]

speaking of yorkshiregrit.com, i see you guys have ben visited by Fiend - 36 comments in one sitting - what a sad fuck!

[jonP]

Come on' Yorkshiregrit, you know you want one really

Can I have one with V8+ on the front and the ten rules of bouldering on the back?

[grimer]

Look Simon, I don't like you to accuse me of being sanctimonious. And furthermore, I would like it to be pointed out that I only hug trees after I have chopped them down.

My point is we should be looking at grades in this historical sense. Here's an example. Goliath was climbed in 1956, or wahatever, and now gets E5. But does that mean Don Whillans was climbing E5 in 1956, and if so, why didn't he do Alien or Nosferatu or Footless Crow. But Goliath wasn't E5 when it was done, not because it has gotten harder, but because the idea of E5 wasn't there, it was just another crack. Bancrioft said in his day it was just the next one you did after the Rasp, no big deal. And if you look at grades, Goliath gets E5 and Sentinel Crack gets E2. But soloing Sentinel, as Whillans did, is a much greater achievement, a much bigger lead. So grades don't really tell you the important thing, ie, where were the breakthroughs made.

And that goes for bouldering too. Walk on By got a couple of repeats a few years ago and got really hyped as a major hard route well ahead of its time. And it probably was desperate, but at the time, crimpy vertical walls were what people climbed on, training on Broomgroove wall and such like. You might get some powerful and steep slappy problem now that today gets a easier grade that maybe 70s and 80s crimpmasters couldn't touch.

So it's impotent to find out if the things with the bigger grades today actually were the breakthoughs. And even if Gaia gets downgraded, in years to come people will still need to remember that its first ascent was a breakthrough. Tall Irishmen aside. On the subject of which, I also intend to try Meshuga sometime, in order to become the first truly shit climber to climb E9. That's what I'm talking about. BREAKTHROUGHS.

[dave]

On the subject of which, I also intend to try Meshuga sometime, in order to become the first truly shit climber to climb E9. That's what I'm talking about. BREAKTHROUGHS.

didn't seb beat you to that?  :wink:

[grimer]

Drat. E10 here I come.

[jonP]

You could achieve long lasting fame by inventing a new bouldering grade.  V7+ maybe?

[tc]

One of the main problems in introducing this kind of perspective is that in the 70's, bouldering just wasn't taken as seriously as now, and generally, problems weren't recorded unless they were 'lines' or micro-routes (see Yorks grit list above).  Hardly surprising now, that we see the need for a history lesson

[AndyR]

speaking of yorkshiregrit.com, i see you guys have ben visited by Fiend - 36 comments in one sitting - what a sad fuck!

Methinks he has some 'issues'....... :?

[Big Frank]

speaking of yorkshiregrit.com, i see you guys have ben visited by Fiend - 36 comments in one sitting - what a sad fuck!

Methinks he has some 'issues'....... :?

Methinks he's a fucking mental :asshole:
?

[Big Frank]

You could achieve long lasting fame by inventing a new bouldering grade.  V7+ maybe?

I always liked the idea of VD but trad climbers already have that!

[Jim]

You could achieve long lasting fame by inventing a new bouldering grade.  V7+ maybe?

I always fancied V8-. The plus thing's already been done