Grading is a favourite discussion for climbing and climbers. While some people are zen enough to truly think grades don’t matter, us human types enjoy being able to track our progress, set goals, and celebrate breakthroughs. Grades are how we do that.
It is really difficult to get right and there are so many factors that go into deciding a grade.
First though, it’s important to say that a climber can only truly have an opinion on the grade of a route once they can climb it without hesitation from bottom to top. When a climber can’t immediately get the sequence, they slow down and pause, burning precious energy and bumping the perceived difficulty, even if they get the onsite. Watch someone else climb it, make sure you aren’t missing a key foothold or sequence. Sending it again with the beta figured out gives a better idea of the grade. Plus, it is a totally natural reaction to think climbs you fall on are harder than climbs you don’t - especially if it happens at a grade you should get. Someone could write an interesting paper on the ratio of comments about climbs being too hard versus climbs being too easy. (Hint: it’s not 50/50)
The style of a climb matters tons. You like crimps? Slope-fests will seem harder. Not so great flexibility? Climbs that require it will feel harder to you than they do to a flexy friend. Climb outside lots? You probably have greater comfort with smaller footholds and won’t add the extra body tension that boosts perceived difficulty. Reachy climbs feel harder for small types and crunchy routes work against the talls. Climbs with bold moves feel harder on lead than they do on top rope. Every climber should come to know what style of routes feel hard for the grade for them.
There are larger obstacles to grading too. Everyone getting stronger as we move into the fall and winter indoor season means that we might not recognize how hard something would have been to us even a few months ago. The COVID shut-down has made this normal season-creep even more pronounced. Ask yourself - Am I heavier? Am I injured? Tired? Have I been climbing more than usual? All of these things can make a grade seem stiff. New holds make a difference too. Unfamiliar means more thought in grip, more time to figure it out, things that feel like more difficulty, but aren’t. Feeling the flow and having a good day can make everything feel easy. Low-gravity days are great days. Adding new setters into the mix also adds an extra element to grading - when your target grade is 5.10b, you really want it to be a 10b. It is part of the development of a routesetter to admit you missed it and grade without the ‘anchor’ of what grade it is ’supposed to be’. It’s something we watch for, but humans are going to human, so sometimes we call something a grade it isn’t. To top it off, grades are broad by definition - how else could the hundreds of thousands of climbs in the world be slotted into just the thirty steps from 5.0 to 5.15? Of course we will find ourselves with one 5.9 being harder than another! This means grading even one route on its own means trying to get different climbers on the same page. Now do it for a whole gym and try to make it make sense and be consistent.
Lastly, every setter trains their climbers to understand their style. It’s the reason why in Setter Showdowns, local climbers pick the climbs set by the home team setter as the winners. I’m sure you all have begun to get a sense of who set what climb at Crag X. Movement is pattern and rhythm, and the familiar is comforting and nice. Even though we have a ‘house style’ at Crag X, when a new setter comes onboard they speak the vocabulary of movement with their own voice. That’s a good thing, and something we encourage. Sometimes it’s hard to understand a new accent, but if you listen you’ll get there. Setting is a craft. A trade that allows the practitioner to leave a piece of themselves in their work.
Does that mean we get grading right all the time? No. It most definitely does not.
One thing I think we do get right is to always self-evaluate, always listen to feedback and always approach this lovely job with humility and effort, no matter how long we have been doing it. Since we have been doing it for almost 30 years now, we have learned to know the difference between a new accent and mispronouncing the words. We’ve watched setting fashion come and go and come back again (Yes! Setting has fashion and style too!) Over the years we’ve also learned to listen to new voices and new ways of speaking climbing; to appreciate the effort of listening. We are always learning. We always make mistakes.
All to say, we pay attention. We work at it. Keep talking to us, we will keep listening.
#climbingisfalling #everyprojectisaproject