Comments on: Terre De Sienne (V14) Repeated Twice

By: Narc

Narc — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:30:17 +0000

I suppose I could go back and add those, but I’ll have to do some research first.

By: sweatpants

sweatpants — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:48:19 +0000

I think it’s fair to say that both will help you to climb increasingly harder and it depends on the problem. To be honest I could still get shut down on something technical that is in the v5 range but have climbed many things that are more physical at harder levels… why not work on my technique you ask? Because I’m lazy and not that intelligent. Good luck in your quest buddy!

By: CJS

CJS — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:32:55 +0000

Thanks, that’s an awesome resource. Is there a reason that the date, or at least month and year of those hard first ascents aren’t mentioned? I think that’d be a really interesting way to track individual, regional, and general progression over time.

Also, do you think there’s any chance of this information making it’s way onto wikipedia some day? I understand that websites and blogs like yours and 8a.nu and moonclimbing and others tend to take care of this sort of information for insiders and fans, but I’m surprised that there is so little useful data on wikipedia.

By: Clark

Clark — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:43:23 +0000

Thanks for the insight. I just started climbing about 3 months ago and have notice a lot of people can do some V7′s but not certain V5′s. I know each route has different moves requiring different technique so that creates uncertainty in the grading. And i’m sure lower level indoor grades are more abiguous than established outdoor routes. I really am just trying to figure out how fast i should be progressing and at what level will i find either a breakthrough or a road block. I now can do a few V3′s each session and am ready to try V4′s. How much harder will it be for me going forward? Will technique or strength help me more at the V4 to V5 levels?

By: sock hands

sock hands — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:24:46 +0000

new level for “pro” would be more near v12/13 i’d think… v12 in a day. all the days. no excuses. that’s the emerging standard. v12 in the wet, cold, hot, with bunny slippers and without chalk.

v9 and 10 was noteworthy when i began in 1999, but alas, it is now a joke.

and i think an honest response to your question about the incremental steps in bouldering grades is that no one knows for sure, and if they know, they are either 1) lying to you; or 2) delusional; or 3) an idiot.

basically every v grade should feel harder than climbs of a lesser grade, but less than a higher grade.

amorphous?

quite.

just know this: it is either v7 or it is crap.

By: Clark

Clark — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:00:25 +0000

Does the difficulty of bouldering problems increase exponentially or are they all about the same once you reach a certain level? For example, is the jump from a V7 to a V8 much harder than from a V6 to a V7? And what is the beginning level for professional status? V9, V10?

By: Narc

Narc — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:00:43 +0000

Of course! 2nd-4th in this case are Graham, Woods and Robinson.

For boulders V14 and harder you can always see an updated list of ascents here:
http://climbingnarc.com/2008/02/hard-unrepeated-american-boulders

By: CJS

CJS — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:57:22 +0000

Thanks for the update! Inspiring for those of us stuck in the snow in Jersey…

My only request is that you might include the names of the 2nd-4th ascents in these posts when you report on them. It’d help me keep the history of these problems straight in my head.