still beats swimming in your pyjamas
Hmm, Id very much beg to differ about bouldering being a minority aspect, especially in Britain. If you include indoor boulderers then there are probably as many boulderers as trad climbers if not more,
Quote from: "T Nagler"Hmm, Id very much beg to differ about bouldering being a minority aspect, especially in Britain. If you include indoor boulderers then there are probably as many boulderers as trad climbers if not more, Quotedepends. if you get dived everyone up into "people who do some bouldering" and "people who only do trad" then yeah there probably are as many. However is you divide it into "people who only boulder" and "people who do some trad" then you're looking at a much small population who only boulder to the exclusion of everything else.I can think of very few if any people who i know who exclusivley boulder, and basically none who have never done trad. and i'm not talking about punters neither in either discipline. you can't divide the UK climbers up into bouldering or trad, and theres a massive overlap.Of course their is an overlap, but to me (a Londoner that travels when I can) bouldering seems at least as popular as trad if you divide it into how many people: mainly climb trad and do a bit of bouldering, and how many people mainly boulder and do a bit of trad. I don't know anybody that exclusively does trad, but I know plenty that exclusively boulders. Its got to be more popular than sport climbing?Quoteso yes, bouldering is very much a minority facet of climbing in the UK.Dosn't seem that way to me, but you may be right.QuoteP.S. if by "indoor boulderers" you mean someone who NEVER climbs outside, then i'd not consider them climbers. :saythat:
depends. if you get dived everyone up into "people who do some bouldering" and "people who only do trad" then yeah there probably are as many. However is you divide it into "people who only boulder" and "people who do some trad" then you're looking at a much small population who only boulder to the exclusion of everything else.I can think of very few if any people who i know who exclusivley boulder, and basically none who have never done trad. and i'm not talking about punters neither in either discipline. you can't divide the UK climbers up into bouldering or trad, and theres a massive overlap.
so yes, bouldering is very much a minority facet of climbing in the UK.
P.S. if by "indoor boulderers" you mean someone who NEVER climbs outside, then i'd not consider them climbers. :saythat:
I think it is a minority sport in terms of the general public
- most people have an reasonable idea of 'rock climbing' ie they know it involves ropes and stuff but they don't really have a concept of the physical aspects ie grades etc. A lot of people, when they find out that I climb ask 'so what's the biggest thing you've climbed then?' which is kind of an irrelevant question for an ex-routing boulderer.
Also, quite apart from the never ending debate about which grading system to use (what would you expect the exam board to use?)
and the debate about how hard actual problems are, even indoors - would Percy's crazy grades be equivalent to climbing walls in London?
How would you define what level a person should climb at in order to pass? The levels (grades) of what people climb, particularly boulder, seem to be going up all the time.
I've been competing for about 5 years now at national and international level (bouldering) and the levels in this country have increased incredibly over that period of time.
I agree that the criteria about anchors and stuff seems a bit naff, although necessary if you do climb routes. What would you suggest should be tested on your syllabus instead though?
Quote from: "AndyR"Have to say, I think 'caring for your environment' and general ropework would be pretty central to being a rock climber in the UK (or Ireland) these days. Also don't think there's too much wrong with learning a bit about the history of the pastime as well - you may be well informed and know much of what there is to learn about rock climbing in the UK, but many of the people taking that option might be virtual beginners and *need* to know that stuff.I think my post to Lucy A covers this, If not say so.QuoteI'd take the easy stroll through a mickey mouse A level if I were you Oi! What did I say (Quotedont' lagh). Note:QuoteIt gets me UCAS points which should help me get into a good uni. PE actually has a worse reputation than it deserves, quite a few meat-heads start the AS, but from my year only 3 made it from the AS to A2 (inc. myself)! I do biology as well and can honestly say that the biology that crosses over (Krebs cycle, glycolysis, link reaction, energy systems, biological responses during exercise, cardio vascular system, lungs, nervous system....) is covered in quite a bit more detail in PE than it is in bio!
Have to say, I think 'caring for your environment' and general ropework would be pretty central to being a rock climber in the UK (or Ireland) these days. Also don't think there's too much wrong with learning a bit about the history of the pastime as well - you may be well informed and know much of what there is to learn about rock climbing in the UK, but many of the people taking that option might be virtual beginners and *need* to know that stuff.
I'd take the easy stroll through a mickey mouse A level if I were you
dont' lagh
It gets me UCAS points which should help me get into a good uni. PE actually has a worse reputation than it deserves, quite a few meat-heads start the AS, but from my year only 3 made it from the AS to A2 (inc. myself)! I do biology as well and can honestly say that the biology that crosses over (Krebs cycle, glycolysis, link reaction, energy systems, biological responses during exercise, cardio vascular system, lungs, nervous system....) is covered in quite a bit more detail in PE than it is in bio!
Doesn't matter really for bouldering, most are comparable (i.e. V9 translates roughly to eaysyish 7C), sport would usually be French, trad would be E grades.
Of course it is a minority sport in terms of the general public, I was talking about bouldering in relation to trad. Sport and comps are more in the minority, but they certainly aren't negligible!
It may be subjective, but more subjective than marking your rope coiling out of 6? How much you care about your environment out of 6? Your anchor placing skills out of 6? I don't think so!
QuoteDoesn't matter really for bouldering, most are comparable (i.e. V9 translates roughly to eaysyish 7C), sport would usually be French, trad would be E grades.In that case Trev you would get a D
Where would this be set? Outdoors? On what type of rock? If it was inside then we are talking about a small number of climbers who just climb indoors and just boulder.
To be honest you ar very lucky that you can get an A-level in sport anyway. You should be glad that they even have a climbing section!
QuoteOf course it is a minority sport in terms of the general public, I was talking about bouldering in relation to trad. Sport and comps are more in the minority, but they certainly aren't negligible!Bouldering is part of the bigger picture. So yes it is a minority section in our sport. Competition (which is what you want to be examined in) is an even smaller % (especially if you are looking at bouldering)
QuoteIt may be subjective, but more subjective than marking your rope coiling out of 6? How much you care about your environment out of 6? Your anchor placing skills out of 6? I don't think so!That's a rather flippent comment. You are being assessed at you DEPTH of knowledge. Many things on the list are right or wrong so it is the application of a technique to a situation. What rope coil for what situation. What anchor for which directional pull.
How would you feel if you were and accomplished trad climber at 17 trying to compete with a gym monkey like yourself? It is possible to climb upto E7 and have never climbed V9 or 7c.
Climbing is about the outdoors. It is about the environment
and it is more about rope coiling than it ever will be about climbing on plastic.
I'm not having a go Trev but most other people have said the same thing on this site but you have chosen not to listen.
I'm not proposing to necessarily irradiate the old syllabus
And by the look of this sentence: QuoteI'm not proposing to necessarily irradiate the old syllabusIts your English that you need to worry about!
that's u told trev :wink: