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« Last post by Nemo on Today at 02:44:49 pm »
A tech grade of 7a is entirely and completely meaningless, so I have the same problem with something being graded E4 7a as I do with something being graded E4 Jellyfish.
But I can't be bothered engaging much with the UK tech grade argument, because it's a debate that for the vast majority of people, was over 2 decades ago.
The reality is, whether some people like it or not, that UK tech grades over 6b are of zero use.
Why?
Because almost everyone climbing at that level (including hard trad specialists) climbs vastly more volume of boulders and sport routes of those physical difficulties than they do trad routes. ie: even for the very top trad climbers, they climb more volume of Fr8b's and Font 8A's on boulders and sport routes than they climb Fr8b's and Font 8A's on trad routes.
And so even hard trad specialists compare physical difficulty with font or french grades. People can complain about that all they like, and talk with some kind of confused romantic nostalgia about UK tech grades as seems to have happened on here recently.
The reality isn't going to change. UK tech grades for hard routes died a long time ago and they aren't coming back.
The only remaining debate is where to switch over. Personally if writing a guide I'd switch at E6, although perhaps at E5 for somewhere like Pembroke. I think Duncan on here recently suggested switching at lower grades. Personally I wouldn't bother as I don't think Fr grades are as useful at lower grades, but ultimately the where is down to individual guidebook writers.
As for the E side of it:
"Font6B into existing top of WSS
Font6C into existing top of WSS
Font7A into existing top of WSS
Font7B into existing top of WSS"
And to continue:
Font8B into existing top of WSS
Font8B+ into existing top of WSS
Font8C into existing top of WSS
Fr9b into existing top of WSS
Fr9b+ into existing top of WSS
Fr9c into existing top of WSS
All of which (since he clearly isn't paying much mind to the physical difficulty of the start in the E grade) in JB's wonderful world would presumably get something between E3 and E5.
OK, obviously I'm somewhat taking the piss.
But truth is, the only way what JB is saying actually hangs together is if you take the two halfs of WSS completely separately and pretend there was a ledge in the middle. So you have a Font 7B+ pitch and then an E4 pitch.
I assume that conceptually at least, that's what he's talking about.
Which I suppose you could just about persuade yourself of in the specific case of WSS, but that kind of split doesn't apply to the vast majority of highballs at all, so it's a grading system that applies to one route. Not terribly helpful.
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