The Yosemite Decimal System, just like other numerical grading systems used in other countries, aims to offer climbers a general guideline to a particular climbing route’s difficulty. A relative consistency in route grading around the country allows the climber to select appropriate routes to attempt according to her ability level and her aims for the day, climbing vacation, or climbing season. When climbers deliberately grade routes erroneously, this messes up the system and defeats its purpose.
How to Grade a Climbing Route
The first ascensionist of a sport climbing route can definitely express his opinion as to the grade of that route, but his word should not be set in stone. The more climbers who climb the route and give their honest opinion as to the route’s difficulty level, the better. Each climber should cast her vote according to the following guidelines:
- The route’s grade should be devoid of ego – so the grade should not reflect a desire to take away difficulty from the first ascensionist, nor to inflate one’s own ego. Just be honest.
- Sandbagging – or deliberately undergrading the route – isn’t cool, whether the intention is to put yourself up by pretending that you don’t know your own strength/ability level, or to deflate and detract from others’ sense of ability. It can also be dangerous, potentially guiding other climbers into climbing situations they don’t possess the ability to handle.
- Grade inflation should be avoided as well. If you consistently grade routes harder or easier than your fellow climbers, you should probably adjust your standards of grading accordingly.
- Try to grade in accordance with the climbing area’s standards. While grading consistency is difficult due to the subjective nature of climbing grades and the wide variances in climbing styles around the world, at the very least, climbers should make an effort to keep route grades consistent relative to one another throughout each particular climbing area.
- Take your own strengths and weaknesses into account. Just because you can climb a particular grade at your home area with ease doesn’t mean that you necessarily will everywhere you travel. Gain knowledge of the standards of grading at the area before offering your opinion. Recognize your own abilities and weaknesses – for example, if you’re short and a route has a big move, understand that while the route will feel harder than the grade for you, it still must be graded for the average-sized climber.
- Take your climbing ability into account as well. Climbers tend to be the most precise and accurate about grading routes that fall within a number grade or so of their onsighting ability. So if you can consistently onsight 5.11a, you’re likely to be pretty accurate about telling the difference between a 5.10d and 5.11b, but not as sharp at telling if a route is 5.13a or b, or 5.7 or 5.8.
Climbing Grades and Ego Issues
While climbing grades shouldn’t be used as subtle weapons to try to take away from others or to raise one’s own sense of climbing ability, this happens all too frequently. Some climbers enjoy sandbagging in order to watch other climbers fail. These types also tend to savor the sycophantic praise given by fellow climbers, as in, “Wow, he doesn’t even know his own strength, because he graded this route 5.13a and it’s more like 5.13d.” This transparent practice for ego-building can easily be seen through by many other climbers, though.
On the flip side, climbers who always want a route to be harder than it is will often argue violently for a letter grade. But isn’t the point only to challenge yourself with climbs that you find enjoyable? If the point for you is to climb to subjective grades, you’re likely to miss out on enjoying the climbs without the sexier grades attached to them, no matter how quality they may be. You’re robbing yourself because of your ego’s needs.
Grading Climbing Routes Appropriately
Climbing grades should be established through an honest consensus of climbers who climb a particular route, with egos placed aside. Deliberate sandbagging or grade inflation represent two sides of the same coin – climbers with ego issues related to grading routes (and probably with ego issues in general). Each route’s grade should be as truthful as possible for the average-sized climber and consistent with other routes in the climbing area.
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