[fried]

Wasn't that distinction created by Jens Larssen for his website, that I won't mention?

I seem to think that's correct, which is a good enough reason to go back to lowercase lettering. I always capitalise the letter for boulder grades, I have no idea why, I've never sport climbed in my life. As of now I'm back in lowercase. Bleau.info use lowercase, case closed.

[nai]

Wasn't that distinction created by Jens Larssen for his website, that I won't mention?

and was the lower case "f" prefixed to boulder grades created by, or just appears on, the other channel's logbooks?

How did the term "French 7a" (other grades are available) come about anyway? Is it coined from when Brits mostly used to climb in France?  Did other European countries (Italy, Spain?) not use the same system at the time?  Basically I suppose I'm asking is this mess we're kicking about all of our own doing?

[Will Hunt]

Dave, your Font guidebook example is shite and you know it. Lowercase works for those guides because they don't have to accommodate different systems in one book. Anybody writing a UK guidebook is likely to have to include UK tech grades, sport grades, and Font grades all in the same book. Saying context is everything is all very well when you have your depth of experience to draw on, but some people using a guidebook will be out climbing for their first time, or they might not be the kind of person who lives and breathes climbing.
They may be completely unaware that different grading systems exist. I can easily imagine a UK punter looking in that Font book and getting the grades confused with UK tech. Old hand might also make the same mistake because the guidebooks they own may still grades boulder problems with UK tech grades.

I don't know why you're so opposed to slapping capital letters on the Font grade. It doesn't take any extra effort, it doesn't use extra ink, it simply adds clarity. It doesn't really matter to be honest, because the people who matter in this regard - those who write guidebooks and those who publish online news articles - have made the call, and the capital letter is here to stay.

[Clart]

Capital for bouldering lower case for routes seems simple enough. The most common usage of both in the same sentence would be when describing a route, e.g. An 8a route that breaks down to 7c up to a 7B boulder problem at mid-height then 7a to the top.
 

[SA Chris]

Jimmy Webb returns from xyz where he spent several days bouldering, followed by two days on the ropes. While out there he did 5x8A's, 3 x 8B's, 2x 8b+, 10x8c+ and 3x9a.

Fuck me, boy is on fire at the moment.

The bit where it does get confusing (to me at least) is where sport routes get described as a "8a into a 7C  then 7c in the middle with a rest then a 7C followed by 7a to the top".

[Duma]

Bleau.info has no need to differentiate! Apparently it was Bjorn Whatsitsname who originally came up with it.

[36chambers]

Can we just describe sport routes as their bouldering break down. So, for example, you would have The Oak 7B-6A+-7A, this is way more insightful than just 8b.

[Baldy]

I just found the hardest boulder problem in the world!

https://bleau.info/cretesud/21150.html

I didn't know 9a had been done in font!

Just because it is a mess already doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about improving the system.

[dave]

Capital for bouldering lower case for routes seems simple enough. The most common usage of both in the same sentence would be when describing a route, e.g. An 8a route that breaks down to 7c up to a 7B boulder problem at mid-height then 7a to the top.
 

That's a great example of one where the capitalisation adds basically no information. As will be the case in 99% of real life examples.

[Clart]

Yeh well that's just like your opinion man.
I'm going to continue using lower case and upper case to differentiate and you can't stop me. Although it does mean I will have to return my Moon 8A t-shirt...

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[Sasquatch]

use v grades instead



 

[blamo]

use v grades instead



 

Sounds like someone isn't happy with the B grades: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_(bouldering)#The_Gill_.22B.22_system

[Offwidth]

I'm moving over to F6a and f6A in all my guidebook work (despite  still preferring V grades..). the bouldering heros here can all translate easily yet in popular combined trad, sport and bouldering venues the majority buying the guides need clarity and its not sensible to have the elite tail wagging the bulk purchase dog.. Will is right, ordinary people, especially those starting climbing need a bit of help and its hardly a massive inconvenience for the rest of us.  Question now is which traverses are sport graded (or both?)

[Andy F V2.0]

Lower case for sport, upper case for bouldering, 'cos bouldering is more important innit?

[Serpico]

I think i've found a solution which should keep davE happy: use lower case for all, but change the font.

7a  Times New Roman = UK tech
7a Courier = Font
7a Comic Sans = French

You're welcome.

[Falling Down]

I don't like the capitals for purely aesthetic reasons.  7a is much more pleasing on the eye and has a soothing effect on the limbic system as opposed an aggressive shouty 7A.  Capitals are all a bit shit for anything apart from being a starting letter in a sentence or noun.  So there..

[i.munro]

I think i've found a solution which should keep davE happy: use lower case for all, but change the font.

7a  Times New Roman = UK tech
7a Courier = Font
7a Comic Sans = French

You're welcome.

      Sorted! Now we just need a system for distinguishing this notation from font (bleau) and from those bird baths in churches.

[dave]

I don't like the capitals for purely aesthetic reasons.  7a is much more pleasing on the eye and has a soothing effect on the limbic system as opposed an aggressive shouty 7A.  Capitals are all a bit shit for anything apart from being a starting letter in a sentence or noun.  So there..

+1

[shurt]

I don't like the capitals for purely aesthetic reasons.  7a is much more pleasing on the eye and has a soothing effect on the limbic system as opposed an aggressive shouty 7A.  Capitals are all a bit shit for anything apart from being a starting letter in a sentence or noun.  So there..

I agree and don't think I've ever written a font grade down with a capital letter and am not going to start now...

[tomtom]

Is davE a small autonomous robot who buzzes around planet earth (sorry Earth) correcting capitalisation?

[Serpico]

.

[kingholmesy]

Wasn't that distinction created by Jens Larssen for his website, that I won't mention?

8a.nu or, er, 8A.nu?

Anyway, lower case = sport route, upper case = boulder is just clearer innit.  No need to know / think about the context to work out which someone is writing about.