UKC

At Cousinbert, not far from Fribourg in Switzerland, Pirmin Bertle has put up Drop a line, ~8C+, his most difficult boulder problem to date.

After having all but retired from climbing due to injuries and bone marrow edema, Pirmin Bertle slowly began training again without any expectations....

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In reply to UKC News:

I understood less than nothing of Bertle's essay on grading.

In reply to UKC News:

Do we need to see every move from 3 angles? Couldn't even manage to finish watching it, and I normally love boulder vids!

In reply to UKC News:

0/10 couldn't finish. Watching every move from multiple angles is exhausting. And what was the bizarre thing with the grading? I really can't see that problem holding up to Goia, Process, some of Nalle's projects etc...

In reply to UKC News:

Rock looks nice, pity the line tops out on a tree trunk(?)
Even though I find it intriguing his blog writings about grades and grading are totally beyond my comprehension (both in English as well as in German).

In reply to jsmcfarland: a quick glance at your profile suggests you're possibly not that qualified to downgrade a boulder problem that you've seen on a video.

In reply to UKC News:

The rationale for grading is really interesting; not least in the context of the famous bankruptcy of the UK tech grade after 6a. What he's basically driving at (it helps to speak German - you can retranslate some bits) is that climbing standards in elite sport climbing have advanced far quicker than the grades; that in other words the gap between 9a+ and 9b is far larger than between 8c+ and 9a. If this sounds like someone hitting their limit, then he provides a rationale that is actually familiar to sport climbers - if you onsight, say, 7a, you should be able to work 7a+ or 7b in a day; a 7b+ or 7c in several days and 7c+ or 8a as a long term project. So he reasons that if he feels that he can easily manage 9a, he should be able to work a 9a+ or 9b pretty quickly - and Ondra should give projects that have taken him 9-10 days more than 9b. This is a boulder problem, but it is a short step to think that bouldering grades also have a problem as they approach the 9s.

I've no idea if he's right. But we know that this can happen to grades, especially when climbing standards increase fast and the broken UK tech grade is the prime example.

This chap has just redpointed 9b according to 8a.nu! Puts it in perspective how hard this 8C+ boulder problem must be!

Pirmin is a legit climber who climbs at a high level. I have very little doubt that he has climbed them unlike some other climbers I can name. As to whether these climbs are as hard as the grade he suggested only the future repeaters can say. He appears too forthright and not a little tactless in his articles but I have enjoyed reading them and had no problem understanding them and the points he was trying to make.

In reply to GDes:

I didn't know there was a qualification in comparing boulder problems you've seen in videos, do they teach this at Sheffield uni or what?

In reply to UKC News:

What's he ever done on Lancashire grit?

In reply to rice boy:

Probably nothing yet but if that problem is his up of tea, he'd love it!