[Andy F]

A lot of the people I do routes with boulder far harder than me (8A vs 7A+), but our redpoint grade is similar.  I know there are one or two others in a similar situation (Shark, TimBroughtonshaw). Just how weak can you be and climb 8a+/b?

[Cassidy]

I can't boulder any harder than 7b+ and I've climbed 8c.  Clearly all these strong guys just aren't trying hard enough!

[gme]

Ian Horrox only just managed to do the warm ups at the school (6c max) at the same time he had done predator. Also a few othe of the Yorkshire brigade would have probably struggled to do a 7.

On the other extreme Andy Bowie could climb 8a+ at the school but failed to do comedy.

[benj_d]

Is not just to do with different peoples strengths? i.e i've never had much stamina or endurance, was never good at running over 400m while i was at school but could run 100m and 200m in a fairly good time. Similarly I'm not a fan of sport climbing and prefer bouldering and shortish trad.

[Serpico]

I think Keefe currently defines 'weakest for the grade' - 8a onsight, claims to be unable to boulder fnt7A.

[Andy F]

I think Keefe currently defines 'weakest for the grade' - 8a onsight, claims to be unable to boulder fnt7A.

That is seriously impressive going 

[gme]

It's not that weird though. Even the routes classed as short in Yorkshire. Like GA or the oak, raindogs etc don't have any hard moves on them. You would struggle to find a 7A problem on any off them.
However if your a boulderer the 25 th 6a move might as well be 8A.

[Ru]

I can't boulder any harder than 7b+ and I've climbed 8c.  Clearly all these strong guys just aren't trying hard enough!

I thought you'd climbed a dumby 8A+?

[dave]

I can't boulder any harder than 7b+ and I've climbed 8c.  Clearly all these strong guys just aren't trying hard enough!

Or you're not trying hard enough at bouldering!

[Adam Lincoln]

I think Keefe currently defines 'weakest for the grade' - 8a onsight, claims to be unable to boulder fnt7A.

And just done his first 8b!

[Falling Down]

Is not just to do with different peoples strengths?

Yes and it's also to do with what motivates individuals and how they most of the their time climbing outdoors.  I'm sure Andy, Shark and Tim could boulder much harder if they really wanted to.  They're more psyched for routes and training for routes.

I'm not really sure what this thread is about to be honest 

[Cassidy]

Well spotted Ru, I have climbed a Dumby 8A+ but thats a bit of a flash in the pan and at my local and felt more like 7b+ when I actually did it.  In travelling to other venues I struggle to get above the personal glass ceiling of 7B+.  This is just my own take on things I suppose.  I can't make sense of bouldering grades above what I can flash i.e the occassional 7b.  It all feels hard till you do it, then it feels alright.  The John Gill system works better for me personally.

And now having just come back from Font I realise that in fact 7a is pretty close to the limit of personal possibility.  In fact I'm not sure I've done any route with a crux harder than a proper font 7a! No joke.

[dobbin]

Think I climbed 8a boulder in the same year I climbed 8a route. I get really scared on a rope though. Perhaps that holds me back.

[gme]

I am not one to have regrets but looking back to when I was climbing a lot in the early to mid nineties I am sure that I would have climbed much harder routes if I had put even a small amont of time into training endurance. I think we all got suckered into the ben and jerry power is everything mode of thought. To some, such as Nic sellers and rich heap this worked as they had a natural abundance of stamina and they were therefore traininging there weakness where as those of us who found it hard to link twenty moves together continued to train our relative strengths.
I still see this today although there is a much bigger focus on volume now than there was.

[Andy F]

It's not that weird though. Even the routes classed as short in Yorkshire. Like GA or the oak, raindogs etc don't have any hard moves on them. You would struggle to find a 7A problem on any off them.

Raindogs doesn't have any hard moves. The crux of GA is possibly 7A, the boulder problem at the start of Overnite is 7A+ish, not yet tried the Oak. Serpico?

[Adam Lincoln]

It's not that weird though. Even the routes classed as short in Yorkshire. Like GA or the oak, raindogs etc don't have any hard moves on them. You would struggle to find a 7A problem on any off them.

Raindogs doesn't have any hard moves. The crux of GA is possibly 7A, the boulder problem at the start of Overnite is 7A+ish, not yet tried the Oak. Serpico?

The Oak doesn't have a 7a+ sequence on it. Overnite is about 7a+. Very boney one. Energy Vampire the 'proper' method is hard. Magnetic. 7c sequence from the floor.
Transform probably font 8a, but we are getting into the high french grades now.

[Adam Lincoln]

It's not that weird though. Even the routes classed as short in Yorkshire. Like GA or the oak, raindogs etc don't have any hard moves on them. You would struggle to find a 7A problem on any off them.

Some of the harder stuff has tricky problems on them.

Dr Crimp - 7b+ sequence low down into a 7b'ish sequence.
Top of all out, 7c'ish
Top of Indian Summer, 7b+'ish
Northern Exposure, 7c'ish

[Tim Broughtonshaw]

It's not that weird though. Even the routes classed as short in Yorkshire. Like GA or the oak, raindogs etc don't have any hard moves on them. You would struggle to find a 7A problem on any off them.

as well as those mentioned

*straightened i heard the start was 7A+? certainly harder than the start of baboo(V5)
*crux of new aged traveller, ive heard quoted v7?
*isnt the boulder problem at the top of connect 4 supposed to be v7 or v8?
*surely there is a 7A sequence on the start of subculture (i.e before it meets slabculture)?

  (disclaimer) just what i have heard/read.  For me they all felt hard but i cannot grade boulder problems for toffee.


Cheers
Tim

[Nike Air]

Them two routes left of Overnite have tough Crux's from what i remember! Though i thought tough moves on unjustified v5....

[JohnM]

You're just not trying hard enough at bouldering Andy!  How many boulder problems have you put as much time and effort in and been as phyched for as Grooved Arete for example?

[Serpico]

Magnetic. 7c sequence from the floor.

7b+, you and Jordan just have little hands.

[Nike Air]

Them two routes left of Overnite have tough Crux's from what i remember!

Doh forgot Magnetic was there, meant middle ledge and the maximun had a move on them.

Magnetic. 7c sequence from the floor.

7b+, you and Jordan just have little hands.

Magnetic is easy even with small hands.
Guess weak folk get up these things cause like mentioned before they spent forever on them and have never done that with a boulder problem. Imagine what they could do......................

[Doylo]

The folk mentioned haven't climbed the equivalent boulder grade because they haven't put anywhere near as much effort in to bouldering.  Strong boulderers who can't cut it on routes is a different story.  Routecraft is something that you acquire by climbing lots of routes, just because you should be crushing the moves on paper doesn't mean you will be succesful.  I've put equal effort into both over the years and would say bouldering is the easier discipline to excel at.

[jwi]

I think some of it also has do with a certain aspect of learning of technique.  Many specialist who can boulder 7C quite easily find it hard to boulder even 6C when affected by a bit of ropedrag and a few extra kilos hanging from the harness (weight of rope, weight of harness, and a few quickdraws).  A good sport climber will have acquired all the different movement patterns needed to complete hard moves with all the different possible forms of external forces pulling on him/her.

[Three Nine]

Andy F - how hard do you onsight? From what i've read on ukb, you seem to be a man who likes a siege. I wonder if this propensity skews things slightly? If you were crushing 8a+ in a session, then maybe it would be surprising that you only bouldered 7A+. However I think the siege approach makes the disparity much less striking.