UKBouldering.com

The 9a list! (Read 19350 times)

abarro81

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 4331
  • Karma: +349/-26
#25 Re: The 9a list!
October 27, 2015, 03:31:29 pm
Thought more about this.. Although Mecca is 7C into 7A with a good rest and staminahumps is 7C into 7B+ with a worse rest I thought  they were the same difficulty did them for the first time - a perfect example of the traverse being harder physically but this being made up for by ease of working...

DAVETHOMAS90

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Dave Thomas is an annual climber to 1.7m, with strongly fragrant flowers
  • Posts: 1726
  • Karma: +166/-6
  • Don't die with your music still inside you ;)
#26 Re: The 9a list!
October 28, 2015, 12:32:09 am
Thought more about this.. Although Mecca is 7C into 7A with a good rest and staminahumps is 7C into 7B+ with a worse rest I thought  they were the same difficulty did them for the first time - a perfect example of the traverse being harder physically but this being made up for by ease of working...

Good stuff.

Steve made the obvious point to me earlier, that you can probably work things out based on how long they take you. The route may take the same time as the boulder, for the same reason - easier climbing : harder to work.

All that said, I think I'd want to claim my 9a "status" with a route rather than a boulder. They're all voies though  ;) As for Mecca, half the top section is now a knee bar rest; maybe that's why it's 7A?  ;)

dave

  • Guest
#27 Re: The 9a list!
October 28, 2015, 09:15:54 am
Thought more about this.. Although Mecca is 7C into 7A with a good rest and staminahumps is 7C into 7B+ with a worse rest I thought  they were the same difficulty did them for the first time - a perfect example of the traverse being harder physically but this being made up for by ease of working...

So what you're saying is a F8b+ route and a supposed F8b+ equivalent boulder problem traverse in actual fact have neither the same standard of climbing nor the same logistical difficulty. So, they aren't actually comparable, despite having the same on paper grade. Which just proves the point you can't treat traverses as routes!

jwi

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 4284
  • Karma: +332/-1
    • On Steep Ground
#28 Re: The 9a list!
October 28, 2015, 09:40:09 am
A traverse is a traverse, and should be graded on the Fontainebleau traverse grade. This was solved ages ago by the old Bleausards.

abarro81

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 4331
  • Karma: +349/-26
#29 Re: The 9a list!
October 28, 2015, 09:42:14 am
Highball 7C and lowball 7C are typically neither the same standard of climbing nor the same logistical difficulty either...

Comparing staminahumps to mecca is not really any more absurd IMO than comparing stamina boys to the ace. Not that I'd advocate using a route grade for staminahumps. At 20-30 moves there are enough boulder grades used to have things to compare to, but when it gets to 40/50/60 moves it seems sensible to use a sport grade as the comparison is (for most) easier to make. If you asked me to give a boulder grade for staminaboys or pilgrimage all I'd do is give it a route grade and then take 3 grades off to have a guess.

abarro81

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 4331
  • Karma: +349/-26
#30 Re: The 9a list!
October 28, 2015, 09:44:08 am

Steve made the obvious point to me earlier, that you can probably work things out based on how long they take you. The route may take the same time as the boulder, for the same reason - easier climbing : harder to work.


This is pretty much how people grade things normally, taking into account how hard it feels when you do it and how much beta you had along the way..

DAVETHOMAS90

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Dave Thomas is an annual climber to 1.7m, with strongly fragrant flowers
  • Posts: 1726
  • Karma: +166/-6
  • Don't die with your music still inside you ;)
#31 Re: The 9a list!
October 28, 2015, 03:24:21 pm

Steve made the obvious point to me earlier, that you can probably work things out based on how long they take you. The route may take the same time as the boulder, for the same reason - easier climbing : harder to work.


This is pretty much how people grade things normally, taking into account how hard it feels when you do it and how much beta you had along the way..

Yes, of course.

I was just pointing out how the physical difficulty/ease of working relationship made it far easier to offer comparative grades than people think.

(I think) I'm with you regarding use of grades - it doesn't matter what you're grading "is", but rather, it's just a choice of language determined by what you're trying to convey.

Rather than calling it a route grade, why not say "sport grade". What sport grade would (does?) Wheel of Life get? That way, we get less hung up over whether something "is a boulder" or "is a route".

Nacho Toranzo

Offline
  • *
  • newbie
  • Posts: 3
  • Karma: +2/-0
#32 Re: The 9a list!
November 01, 2015, 06:43:39 pm
I made a visualisation with the data from the 9a list just for fun, hope you like it

https://public.tableau.com/profile/ignacio.toranzo#!/vizhome/THE9THGRADEROCKCLIMBINGLIST/Dashboard

jwi

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 4284
  • Karma: +332/-1
    • On Steep Ground
#33 Re: The 9a list!
November 01, 2015, 08:36:11 pm
nice!

andy_e

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 8836
  • Karma: +275/-42
#34 Re: The 9a list!
November 04, 2015, 01:14:37 pm
That nice graphic shows us that Era Vella is the most popular 9a, therefore is the easiest, therefore can be downgraded to 8c+  ;)

SA Chris

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 29384
  • Karma: +638/-12
    • http://groups.msn.com/ChrisClix
#35 Re: The 9a list!
November 04, 2015, 01:56:27 pm
Most popular by some distance!

 

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal