[blockhead]

With all the slating that some classic problems are taking thought we should redress the balance. What are the essential bouldering ticks in each grade?

Westside story and blind date for 7b+?

Brad pitt for 7c+?

7b, 7c, 8a?

[chappers]

is westside not 7c (v9)? i thought there was a thread saying that it is "benchmark" for the grade.

[Bonjoy]

Hard 7b+ therefore bottom end of V9. Seeing as it's hard for 7b+ it could hardly be considered a benchmark though.

[Nibile]

why brad pit 7c+? it was supposed to be classic 8a.
i mean, all the big guns ticked it like an 8a. another one, i mean...

[(woz)]

WSS and BP are still rites of passage, irrespective of the grades.
To the list I would like to add the keel - doesn't matter what you think of the quality, it is still a rite of passage (7b+)

[r-man]

I like grades, but I think the classic "rites" transcend those coveted numbers.  They are inspiring lines that look hard all over. When you start out climbing the thought of one day being able to do them seems far-fetched. When you finally manage them, or even when you finally realise you have a chance of doing the moves, it really is a little special - just because of what they are and the reverence surrounding them, not what number they get.

I'd add the buckstone dyno. It's a crazy move, so there's no gaurantee you can climb other stuff that grade, and equally if you're climbing that grade, there's no gaurantee you'll find the buckstone reasonable. But it's a great feeling to have looked at it years ago and goggled at the distance, then to finally come back and discover it's really possible, and a fantastic move to boot.

[Fiend]

I reject and spurn the concept of 'rites of passage' and 'essential ticks'!

[Nibile]

yeh,
im sorry i brought up the grades issue, its bullshit.

the meaning of some problems gets further than its grade.

[r-man]

I reject and spurn the concept of 'rites of passage' and 'essential ticks'!

I think you're silly.

Stop trying to be controversial.



Everyone has favourite problems. The fact is that some problems are going to acrue more universal admiration than others. They then get called classics.   Sure, people talk/write guidebooks, and this then draws more people to them, but I doubt they would be so easily drawn if the problems were actually rubbish bits of climbing...

And nothing Derren Brown has to say will convince me otherwise. Anyone see that last night?

[(woz)]

I like grades, but I think the classic "rites" transcend those coveted numbers.  They are inspiring lines that look hard all over.

I don't think that aesthetics or quality that important to do with a problem being a rite of passage.
E.g Brain dead at cratcliff and Banana finger direct. Both font 6c (?) but even though brain dead is a better line, BFD will allways be a rite of passage. Same goes for Powerband and something like Brass monkeys, or Pressure drop.

[account_inactive]

I'd add the buckstone dyno. It's a crazy move, so there's no gaurantee you can climb other stuff that grade, and equally if you're climbing that grade, there's no gaurantee you'll find the buckstone reasonable. But it's a great feeling to have looked at it years ago and goggled at the distance, then to finally come back and discover it's really possible, and a fantastic move to boot.

Too right you won't be able to climb stuff at the same grade as its a DYNO.  Jumping around is all well and good, but its not climbing.  At least deliverance goes with a slap :roll:

[dave]

powerband? the press?

i would say WSS was bench 7b+.

[Jim]

a dyno cannot be benchmark! or morpho problems!
my votes for 7a benchmark are gorilla warefare and early doors and beachball and breakfast arete and trackside. I find the nose too hard for 7a

[dave]

isn't breakfast arete easier than 7a?

[Jim]

not if your average height Dave  :wink:

[r-man]

Too right you won't be able to climb stuff at the same grade as [the buckstone is] a DYNO.  Jumping around is all well and good, but its not climbing.  At least deliverance goes with a slap :roll:

a dyno cannot be benchmark! or morpho problems!

Benchmarks shmenchmarks. I just said it was one a dem rites of passage. Something to aspire to and something to feel chuffed about doing.

[Control freak]

i would say WSS was bench 7b+.

I know a whole team of Petzl climbers who would probably disagree with you  :wink:

[the_dom]

a dyno cannot be benchmark! or morpho problems!
my votes for 7a benchmark are gorilla warefare and early doors and beachball and breakfast arete and trackside. I find the nose too hard for 7a

I found Gorilla quite stiff for 7a (3rd day on though), especially given that it was that much harder than, say, the Green Traverse/Dope on a Slope, or really any other 7a I tried/did on my short trip.

And the Buckstone Dyno is a classic problem - one of the best dynos I've ever done..

[Bowie]

oh my god jim that's possibly the worst collection of 7as in the world, they can't be benchmark surely, neither are they rights of passage!. trackside? beachball? wrong wrong wrong!
 (of course being rubbish i can't think of alternative suggestions)

[chappers]

I found Gorilla quite stiff for 7a (3rd day on though), especially given that it was that much harder than, say, the Green Traverse/Dope on a Slope, or really any other 7a I tried/did on my short trip.

i would say the opposite, it is much easier than the green traverse, there is no move as hard as the drop down and slap back up that there is on the green. i would vote for bang on 7a for this.

i agree with the status of the problem dictating the rite of passage thing...i have always felt more chuffed having done problems like those mentioned above.

[SA Chris]

Pebble Wall at Almscliff was a bit of a rite of passage for me. Ican remember the first time I went there seeing Streaky doing it, and was so inspired. Tried it on and off for two years before nailing it, then could do it consistently for about a year.

[Bonjoy]

i would say WSS was bench 7b+.

 Ok you say it's benchmark i.e. middle of the grade (which also makes it V8 BTW). Therefore roughly 50% of the rest of the 7b+s are harder. So give me a list of the harder 7b+s ?????? Consider that a laid down gauntlet.

[Falling Down]

I reckon you need to have done a fair bit of passage to declare 'rites'...

A bit Peak Centric but that's where I've always climbed...

When I was starting out stuff like Crescent Arete, NTBTA, Joes Arete @ Roaches where the first ones that your could wear on your sleeve.

Then it was Re-emergence, Green Traverse/Dope on a slope, Guerilla Warfare, Hampers Hang.

Then it's West Side, Blind Date, Jerry's Traverse @ Plantation and Seans Problem @ Stoney (still yet to navigate three of these succesfully mind and I'm getting older each year).

[al]

the orange route thru the steep bit of the wave - a stepping stone for everyone surely?

[Fiend]

Breakfast is quite a good benchmark V5 even if you're short  :wink:

[Scouse D]

the orange route thru the steep bit of the wave - a stepping stone for everyone surely?

Cofe told me he did this the other week. I'm waiting for video evidence.

[John Cooke]

I reckon you need to have done a fair bit of passage to declare 'rites'...

A bit Peak Centric but that's where I've always climbed...

When I was starting out stuff like Crescent Arete, NTBTA, Joes Arete @ Roaches where the first ones that your could wear on your sleeve.

Then it was Re-emergence, Green Traverse/Dope on a slope, Guerilla Warfare, Hampers Hang.

Then it's West Side, Blind Date, Jerry's Traverse @ Plantation and Seans Problem @ Stoney (still yet to navigate three of these succesfully mind and I'm getting older each year).

Good ones those...

Maybe not all rites of passage but classics at the grade and IMO should be on everyones wishlists. In and out of Peak

Pebble Arete
Crescent Arete
7 Ball
Pebble Wall
Green Traverse
New Jerusalem
The Nose
Demon Wall Roof
T-Crack
Power Allowance or Punker Bunker (Everyones got to have a Tom's Roof tick!)
Yorkshireman
Blockbuster
WSS (Not done it though)
The Terrace
Jerry's Traverse (Stanage)
Bens Ext (Not done either ...yet)

Stacks more but can't think of anymore off the top of my head...

[Stubbs]

Blockbuster? I don't think is would be at all popular without its Stick It appearance.  If you have blockbuster in, you should definitely have Ben's Groove and Zoo York in too: That area of Caley is full of rites of passge.

[Bonjoy]

Blockbuster was equally popular pre Stick It. Steep things with good landings usually are, or it could have been the photos in Fawcett on Rock

[saltbeef]

i would say WSS was bench 7b+.

 Ok you say it's benchmark i.e. middle of the grade (which also makes it V8 BTW). Therefore roughly 50% of the rest of the 7b+s are harder. So give me a list of the harder 7b+s ?????? Consider that a laid down gauntlet.

Sean's problem, blind date, i'll think of some more.

[saltbeef]

t crack, brutal arete, and they're 7b. talk to me martin! the storm. autumn. ithink all of these are harder.

[Jim]

Blockbuster. When I used to climb at caley regular, when I was a proper punter, I always aspired to climb this problem. This was before I knew what the problem was called or had seen it or seen anyone try it. Its a good line IMO. I need to get to caley!

[dave]

i would say WSS was bench 7b+.

 Ok you say it's benchmark i.e. middle of the grade (which also makes it V8 BTW). Therefore roughly 50% of the rest of the 7b+s are harder. So give me a list of the harder 7b+s ?????? Consider that a laid down gauntlet.

when i say benchmark i mean its deffinetley 7b+ no argument. and to be benchmark it helps to be in the upper segment of the grade, then theres no chance people would think its a lower grade..... but it still wont get upgraded cos it just ain't as hard as 7c.

[cofe]

the orange route thru the steep bit of the wave - a stepping stone for everyone surely?

Cofe told me he did this the other week. I'm waiting for video evidence.

i really ought to start reading the posts on these things rather than looking at the pretty pictures under everybodys names.

al - absolute dynamite that problem. harks back to the good ol days when i had a 3ft walk from work to the foundry...

scouse  - watch out...

[blockhead]

The pebble has got to be on there.. forgot about that one. Deliverance too, i wanted to climb that one about 10 years ago.. or whenever it was that one summer came out and it's still on the tick list!

Early doors despite not being a classic was every man and womans first B9 a few years back so i guess by default it has attained the status of a rite of passage.

Don't really get a chance to climb outside the peak much but some things i'd love to do would be rock attrocity, lou ferrino and jerry's roof.

[Bonjoy]

i would say WSS was bench 7b+.

 Ok you say it's benchmark i.e. middle of the grade (which also makes it V8 BTW). Therefore roughly 50% of the rest of the 7b+s are harder. So give me a list of the harder 7b+s ?????? Consider that a laid down gauntlet.

Sean's problem, blind date, i'll think of some more.
t crack, brutal arete, and they're 7b. talk to me martin! the storm. autumn. ithink all of these are harder.

 Is that the best you can do? I think my point is proven. They are ALL easier BTW, with the possible exception of TTMM and Sean's which I haven't tried enough to comment on. Just cos you haven't done something, it doesn't automatically make it harder than something you have. Mostly it just means you're not trying it right.

i would say WSS was bench 7b+.

 Ok you say it's benchmark i.e. middle of the grade (which also makes it V8 BTW). Therefore roughly 50% of the rest of the 7b+s are harder. So give me a list of the harder 7b+s ?????? Consider that a laid down gauntlet.

when i say benchmark i mean its deffinetley 7b+ no argument. and to be benchmark it helps to be in the upper segment of the grade, then theres no chance people would think its a lower grade..... but it still wont get upgraded cos it just ain't as hard as 7c.

 
 A Benchmark is a standard for comparison, therefore should by typical, middle of the road at that level. If your standard is top of the gradelist, when people use it as a standard they will end up downgrading low end 7cs to 7b+. Two years down the line the old 7c is the new benchmark and the process of downward gradecreep continues. If you meant benchmark for the upper limit of 7b+ then I couldn't agree more, infact that's exactly what I said in the first place  :roll:

[saltbeef]

Mostly it just means you're not trying it right.

yup, i have the beta, just find them harder. powehumps, the press. those bad boys are harder. just because you found westside harder doesn't mean it is?!

[Bonjoy]

Fair point. In which case it comes down to consensus. I don't think i'm going out on a limb saying WSS is hard at 7b+. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate that in your world it might be a walk in the park. Like someone else said, the eurowads of on the Petzl rock trip might disagree with your assessment.
 Was talking about grit probs really. Let's face it limestone probs tend to be either impossible if you aren't strong enough or fairly piss if you are.

[saltbeef]

exactly. i don't know if west side is hard, it was my first7b+ in the peak. and i can usually do it everytime i go now, even if i've been somewhere els, though i guess i now just have the knack.

[andy_e]

has anyone mentioned the Green Traverse? I think that's a good Rite... I can nearly do it too...

[BenF]

Lots of pretty fair suggestions Peakside so far.  Cuban's list is probably the most comprehensive I'd say.

Continuing the gritcentric theme, how about adding:  

Horror Arete (if you climb at Bridies, which most people do at some point, you've gotta do it)
Jerry's Arete (the Bridies one)
Fight on Black (the obvious medium-hard line of the area)
Bob's Bastard (maybe not the best but a good tick for the novice who can't mantel)

And is this just a grit rites, or a UK-wide list?  Maybe we need separate threads for Welsh rites of passage and Lakes, Scotland etc.

[webbo]

the rites of passage for me back in the day when men were men and sheep were nervous.were the start to wall of horrors,crucifix,crucifix arete,morrels wall and pebble wall.this was before bouldering had been invented in the peak. :wink:

[Sypeland]

the rites of passage for me back in the day when men were men and sheep were nervous.were the start to wall of horrors,crucifix,crucifix arete,morrels wall and pebble wall.this was before bouldering had been invented in the peak. :wink:

Nice list but two problems missing from a list that sums up my youth, Pork chop slab and the classic Flying Arete.

Oh and the long traverse on the bottom of the virgin!

[webbo]

being rather more ancient than your good self.harry mamill had yet to perform the deed on flying arete when i was battling with the likes of morrels wall.
i think he was the first person i ever saw lunge.

[AndyR]

i think he was the first person i ever saw lunge.

genius
 

[Moo]

I'd definatley nominate power pinch as a good rite of passage on the bowder stone I'm in love with that place at the moment it's awesome.

[Houdini]

Browns' Mantle @ T'Roadside, Pass.   






Grade it yourself.