[Doylo]

Check out 8a.nu, malc, andy earl, parry and macleod have all been blitzing chresciano, chironico!

[squeek]

don't you mean Gareth Perry?   :D

That's one good trip they're all having so far! ... and still there for a while longer as well aren't they?

[Greg C]

Not meaning to undermine the efforts of said dudes but does this not bolster the argument that grades are getting out of hand on the continent. I mean when was the last time anyone did similar feets on recognised hard problems in the UK? And I'm not talking about Peak B12's I'm talking about proper graded stuff.

Evey time Malc seems to go to Cresciano he seems to blow 8b's out the water so quickly.

[Pantontino]

I spoke to Malc yesterday and he told me that Dreamtime would get 8b+ in the UK.

He also said rumours of it being chipped were bullshit: it hasn't changed at all since he first tried it a few years ago. There is one newly brushed hold at the start, but most people don't use it, and it doesn't make it any easier anyway.

[dave]

good to hear its not been chipped.

[squeek]

Might it also be the case that as well as the continent having easier grades overall, our grades are harder grades overall, and hence they're both wrong?   :D
Afterall the grading system for bouldering is from the continent anyway!  Although I suppose the difference between what people seem to achieve in a flying visit to cresicano, and a flying visit to Font seems to differ a lot.  Maybe I should pop down and try to get my first 7 tick    :wink:

Ah well, not to worry, least Dreamtime hasn't been chipped, that would have been a shame.

[Doylo]

I've been to Magic Wood and that was a couple of grades out. I expect Chrescianos pretty similar as its down the road. You won't find many overgraded places in France though, Ailfroide, Tralenta, Font ..all pretty stiff!

[Stu Littlefair]

From my experience I thought that most grades in Cresciano were OK. A lot of them have been downgraded in the new guide from the unofficial topo grades, which helps the situation.  There are quite a few soft touches still lying around though!

I've not been to Chironico, but the locals we met said it's about a grade out compared to cresciano. Magic wood is supposedly even softer!

Most importantly, cresciano is a really, really nice place - the problems are fantastic, and the weather is much more reliable than font.

[Greg C]

I have also been to Cresciano and thougt the grades were about right (in the new guide at least) I wonder if its more a case of the 8's where the problem emerges, being as it was about 85 degrees when I was there I didn't try any, so I wouldn't really be in a position to say. Or perhaps its a case of the harder problems are very basic and so you can either do the quickly or not at all.

I think by most accounts I've heard Magic Wood is a bit of an anomaly and shouldn't be used as a yard stick.

[squeek]

Most importantly, cresciano is a really, really nice place - the problems
are fantastic, and the weather is much more reliable than font.

Are there lots of easy things there as well?  I haven't seen the guide and probably won't have chance for a few weeks.  I haven't decided where I should go in Autumn this year yet.

[Pantontino]

I think there is always a tendency for harder grades to be inflated. there are less comparative reference points and less consensus. Also it seems that whilst people will accept that V5 for example can be quite a broad grade, when it comes to top end stuff they don't.

"Problem X feels harder than problem Y, therefore I'll give it a grade one notch up the scale."

When perhaps they are actually both within the same grade.

As for Cresciano - I thought the easy/mid grade stuff was bang on. Chironico seemed softer and Magic Wood was plain wierd.

I would concur with Stu: if you're getting pissed off with shitty weather in Font then go and check this place out. I thought it was a fantastic place.

[Stu Littlefair]

There are easy problems there, but there isn't the real depth of easy problems there is in font. I reckon if you can haul your ass up 6b-ish there'll be loads to do for a week, below that there'll still be a lot to do, but you wont have much choice.

What cresciano does have in common with font is that the easier problems are sweet! Font 6's on grit are often a bit dull, but there are some awesome slabs and ramps and shit in cresciano. Heartily recommended.

[Percy B]

Grades at Cresciano in the new book seem bob-on. Many problems are quite conditions dependant, so feel desperate when its warm, and steady when its baltic (possibly even more so than Grit).
Nice place though - was out last week with team UK and the boys were properly bearing down and dispatching a lot of hard problems.
The number of big grades being dispatched by the boys doesn't mean the problems are easy for the grade - it means that Malc, Andy, Gaz and Dave are all psyched and strong as fuck, and are doing the deed. Bear in mind these are some of the best UK boulderers and they are more than capable of flashing proper hard 8a's and harder if the conditions are good!
The reason they don't rampage across the UK like they are doing in Switzerland is because they have almost certainly done most of our hard problems at some point in the past.

[Pantontino]

I disagree Percy, there are plenty of examples of V12s and V13s in the UK that are either unrepeated or have had only a couple of ascents:

Cherry Falls
The Ace
Pool of Bethesda
Malc's Start
Diana low start
Isla de Encanta

All of these are easy access and well known.

[Percy B]

Fair point, Si, but hasn't Malc done at least half of the problems you mention?
And anyway, Cresciano has a massive concentration of hard problems in one place, so you're more likely to find several hard problems that will suit your style. There aren't that many venues in the UK that have 20+ 8a and harder problems within 5 minutes walk of each other, of differing styles. If only there were......... :roll:

[Pantontino]

As far as I know, Malc has done The Ace and POB/Malc's Start.

I know we don't have the concentration of hard problems that you get at Cresciano, but it still amazes me how few ascents hard problems in the UK get.

Either people can't be arsed, or the grades are hard.

[dave]

maybe over here we don't have the swathes of wildly overhaning granite that they do in switerland and the US so our hard problems are much more specific/painful/conditiony.

[a dense loner]

I mean when was the last time anyone did similar feets on recognised hard problems in the UK? And I'm not talking about Peak B12's I'm talking about proper graded stuff.

greg, cud u give me one example of an easy peak b12 so i can go n do it, cheers. :D

[Doylo]

I disagree Percy, there are plenty of examples of V12s and V13s in the UK that are either unrepeated or have had only a couple of ascents:

Cherry Falls
The Ace
Pool of Bethesda
Malc's Start
Diana low start
Isla de Encanta

Is diana low start considered V12 these days Simon? Is it because that hold on the Chauffeur came off or was it just sandbagged by Chris when he did it?

[Pantontino]

I think cjd was just being modest when he first did it.

It's a sick crimp pull - it's what the man does best. Of course it's going to be nails.

[Greg C]

Heres a good example of a Peak B12/13
Brad Pitt V9?  

[dave]

that was given B13 though - we're on about B12s, its a totally different situation.

i suppose mushin is a soft B12 - about the only one i can think of.

 

[a dense loner]

i c. we're takin the guidebook holier than thou versions.  
brad pitt has had only one repeat the b13 way. looks like this way is b13, wotever this may be. btw when it was first done back in the day, the holds were a lot worse. but since every man n his dog have bin on it the footholds have enlarged the handholds got better etc. the only other guy 2do it this way is 8 foot tall.  :D everybody knows that brad pitt is now 7c/+, v9/10.
everybody also knows that mushin is 7c+, v10. everybody says this is a soft touch but surprise, surprise not that many have done it. i will concede that RU thinks this is easy 4the grade. seems to suit the smaller guy to weight the toe hook. :wink:
new grit probs r only overgraded after they've seen lots of traffic!!! if we think that messers moon n myers can't grade hard probs then it's time to give up.

[dave]

footholds have enlarged the handholds got better etc.

aye, on the handhold theres massive horizontal wirebrush grooves all along a 2" radius all round the hold. fucking dickheads. :flame:

[Ru]

everybody also knows that mushin is 7c+, v10. everybody says this is a soft touch but surprise, surprise not that many have done it. i will concede that RU thinks this is easy 4the grade. seems to suit the smaller guy to weight the toe hook

It may be easier to get the toe to stick if you are shorter, but I've done it without toe hooks at all, although admittedly this is harder.

[Johnny Brown]

"easier" for the short and strong I reckon. I've done plenty of 7c+s but can't touch this, and Justin, who's no punter, basically lives there and hasn't done it. So I don't think its a soft touch at all.

Let's face it, just cos a problem suits one man doesn't make it a soft touch for all. Personally I find Brad Pit soft at 7c : , but watchin y'all struggle suggests it may suit me.

Fuck the grade; feel the quality :wink:

[Steve Crowe]

Malcolm Smith on Dreamtime video available now at http://www.smartboysonline.co.uk/news.htm

[Bubba]

I get the sound from that video, but no picture  :?

Is it just me? Can everyone else see it ok?

[mark]

I get sound and vision. Mr Smith seems moderately pleased when he tops out!

[dave]

the pictue quality is pretty fucking bad for a 5meg video - but its still fucking impressive.

[squeek]

It's just an avi taken with a digital camera, I'm sure it could be compressed  quite a bit if it was converted to a different format.

[Omega]

"easier" for the short and strong I reckon.

...

Fuck the grade; feel the quality :wink:

nice quote

back to mushin' - i tried this puppy on saturday (it was dry ) and i'm running out of ideas.  ru/johnny brown - care to share some beta?  i can get right hand to the edge/pocket immediately above the good left hand hold.  toe is well hooked.  but when i try and go right to the two finger pocket i just fall off!

is the plan to cut loose after you have both hands up and campus right for the good looking hold?  i didn't fancy trying that too much cos it looks like you'll crack your nuts of the tree if the left hand blows!

any words of wisdom would be appreciated (either on this thread or in the 'beta room')

[Johnny Brown]

Well it sounds like you're gettin further than me, but yeah it seems the crux is getting your legs out.
Ru's method centres around having the strength of ten men but only the body weight of a small boy :wink: I think being short might help too - the toe-hooks work a little better.

[Omega]

cheers.  i have a feeling the trick is to swing out, then campus to the two finger, then again to the large scoop.  

 if i ever get that far, hopefully the top moves will reveal themselves!  don't fancy toppoing out tho'   - is it cricket to jump off once you've made it to the break??

[Steve Crowe]

I don't know too much about video yet, so any practical tips would be helpful, however Gaz took the clip on his comact stills camera so I think it has come out okay? Maybe I could have compressed it more/better.

Steve