also, suspension has a high committing finish. let’s face it, most folks really pushing the grades are not doing so high off the deck. most of the really hard lines i’ve seen media of tend to be safe. or, if they do have tall finishes, the finish tends to be easy… like jade. this isn’t a critisisim of the climbers, but rather just pointing out the obvious. i certainly do not push my max on highballs… that’s what the turds are for! when it comes to the cutting edge in raw difficulty, the pros are no different.

I suppose you are right about the location in that being close to Boulder makes any hard problem relatively accessible just because of how many strong climbers come to visit. Suspension of Disbelief seems to be an exception to that rule though (Although its style and finding the right conditions seem to be a factor with that one having so few ascents) .

I guess a good comparison might be to Warpath in Idaho. If it was near Boulder or in an area like Hueco or Bishop it would probably have been repeated by now, no?

basically, it is part of the frontrange locust circuit whereas the lines in europe, etc, may not be. sure the euros can swarm too, but when they do, the lines tend to be downrated. jade’s grade has interestlingly stayed intact with repeats.

remember that some of those who have sent jade are also of the group that gangbanged some of the 14s and 15s in south africa… which they felt were easier in comparison.

that said, there has to be more and more-better v15s in colorado… the green 45 wall is ultra cool, but it’s lines tend to rely on the aesthetic nature of the wall rather than the actual movement. i hope that jade was the tip of the iceberg for colorado 15s and up… and with all the talent here right now and a few of the newly or re-discovered projects, it just might be…