I was simply pointing out the uselessness of trying to compare 2 problems for difficulty based on video footage.

For the record I bum BigUp and Chris Sharma

“The Japanese Dai Koyamada has established another long boulder problem that may be harder than V15, according to http://www.8a.nu. Koyamada added a six-move, V11/12 sit start to his existing problem Hydra (V14) at Shiobara, Japan, to create Hydrangea (V15/16). The complete problem has 25 moves and spans about 45 feet, including a 30-foot horizontal roof.

In its length, Hydrangea resembles Wheel of Life, the possible V16 that Koyamada established last spring in the Grampians of Australia—at 76 moves, this bouldering route really deserves a sport-climbing grade, and indeed Koyamada suggested 5.15a.”

The article states that Hydrangea has 25 moves.

It then goes on to state that Wheel of Life has 76 moves. The 5.15a suggestion is appended onto the statement about Wheel of Life having 76 moves.

Alrighty, back to mind-numbing spreadsheets at work, woo!

http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/nicolefitness/

“Although neither Sharma nor Nicole graded the long, horizontal sandstone roof, Nicole said it was the hardest boulder problem of this style he had ever done. ”

You have that typical “Sharma’s over-rated attitude” and the “I hate BigUp production” concept ozzes but I think we can all agree on Nichol’s assessment. Now, it’s obvious that HMC and the Ozarks are vastly different in style but when an ungraded line attracts the attention of Fred Nichol you know it’s no joke.

I only wanted to state that here are two difficult boulder problems by the same boulder…er and both with grades that people eek at and both that have already been repeated. Then, here’s another roof problem that attracts the attention of one of the most notable boulder…ers we could think of and the line pretty much ends there because he didn’t even suggest a grade for it. It’s pretty much dropped off the map. I just agree with the opinion that these type of problems shouldn’t be graded and not be focused on.

At the end of that blurb, it says that Koyamada also suggested 5.15a for The Wheel of Life. Just throwing that out there, yup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hE84eFEJRc

Just my impression.

I would also agree that some lines like these deserve route grades. I haven’t even been there but I don’t think Wheel of Life is V16, I think it would be more appropriate at 5.15.

To me the problems in HMC seem more appropriately graded on the route scale, but it’s really neither here nor there since the route grade would just be some sort of conversion from the summary of the boulder grades.

Also, in all seriousness, this is wicked hard looking, I just don’t know about these super long boulder problems, in any form. I mean, Evilution I can see being a long boulder problem, in Highball form, and Luminance, but whether vertical or horizontal, where is the line between a route done without a rope or a boulder problem.

If you argue that the boulder problem focuses on the individual hard movements, seeing what Sharma is doing in Spain with hard roped boulder problems would blur your ideas event further. I mean. Its stupid to argue about what climbing style we’re talking about, but at the same time, I think standalone boulders lend more purity to bouldering in my mind than short cliffline bouldering or cave traversing.

Its just not as hard, so I’ve lost interest.

Where is that “insert heavy sarcasm” tag when I need it. Oh wait, there it is.