UKC

Why can’t I find a description of UK trad tech grades? I have gradually built up my own based on experience, for example 5c could be finger cracks, but how would one know what to expect on a route with a certain tech grade?

Because there isn't a definition. There is only a consensus (or a grade given in the first ascensionist's opinion). This is pretty common in sport, compare to say skiing where there is no definition given for a green, blue, red or black run grade, but if you ski, you know what those slopes should feel like.

Finger cracks are one specific type of climb/move. The type of move/route isn't really related to technical grade, you can have 4c or 5a finger cracks but also 6c or 7a finger cracks.

The tech grade says nothing about the nature of the climbing, only it's physical difficulty, and then only relates to how hard the hardest move or sequence is. The difficulty of a 5c could equally be found on an unprotected slab as on a well-protected crack, but of course in the former case, the Adjectival (E) grade would be very much higher.

Edit: typo

...by reading the guidebook and studying the route from below?

5c is the grade a 5c climber can just about manage but which is too hard for a 5b climber. 

I'm not sure... I'd say 5c was the grade a 5c climber can manage comfortably but a 5b climber can only scrape through. Or, to put it another way, roughly Allan Austin grit 5a...

Someone once published a rule of thumb guide  to fingerhold size which was obviously very controversial but it ran along the lines of 

5b holds- edge of audio cassette  box

6a holds - edge of CD box.

Those aren't real examples and, as I say, massively open to argument and it would need some different artefacts which were actually familiar to anyone under the age of fifty.

5b - you've got this, stay cool.

5c - oh Jesus, oh god, help me!

6a - f*ck, f*ck, falling!

6b - how do you even start that?

Climbing grades are not like walking grades where you can read a definition about roughness/steepness of ground and length of walk. With tech grades you have to do a particular move of that grade to find out how it feels to you.

I think I like this definition! 

From the lack of results Googling the answers here are pretty much what I thought. It’s all a bit subjective though - thin finger cracks or CD case holds might be hard for one person but easy for another. 

6b - I can take one foot off the floor but not both at the same time 🙂

To add some rocktype variation to that:

Slate tech 6b: Yay, cool techy climbing

Grit tech 6b: How the actual f***?!

That was David Jones in his fantastic photo-book Rock Climbing in Britain.

I thought it was a good attempt at describing what tech grade might mean, but like you said, quickly becomes a nonsense when you apply it to real rock.

Can you remember the details? I just had cassette  box in mind but a beer mat might have been in there......

Actually he just uses the cassette analogy:

5b holds size cassette box edge

5c/6a edge of cassette 

6b/6b cassette tape width.

No wonder I can’t do 6b moves😊

The hard bit with the tech grade as my mate says:

”it’s only 5c if you can find the 5c sequence. I was solid 6a every move up there “

In a former life, I graded moves , while practicing for the head point.

6b smear once trusted to. Never let you down

6c smear. Similar but takes longer to build that trust.

7a smear. Never sure why it stuck but it did

With the awful super posed/cutting loose pictures?

What would the sort of description your after look like? 

The grade is a measure of difficulty. So all 5c means is "a bit harder than 5b" where 5b means "a bit harder than 5a".

There really isn't any more to it than that. 

Thats the one. Every day sunny; every crag dry. The way life should be.

Shame that such condescending replies get likes.

So, by now you should have gathered that the tech grade applies across all rock types and climbing styles so aren’t directly related to particular moves. 
When I started climbing, novices got introduced to everything by more experienced people so you learned what to look for, how to assess stuff and how to climb. If you haven’t got access to this, then joining a local club can do this task and you may get access to a club hut somewhere nice.

Otherwise, most of the clues you need are in the guidebook, route description and the adjectival grading in combination with the tech grading. Also a feel for specific crags, for example while it’s only separated by a few metres, climbing on Curbar is a very different experience to Froggatt, and hugely different to Baslow.

Hope this helps.

paul

Shame that so many people are looking to be offended by a remark that can be taken in several ways. I thought it was a statement of the bleedin' obvious myself with a slightly humourous quality but if you're looking for other aspects that's up to you.

How do you feel about Marmite?  

According to Ben Moon (I think?)

6c - not that hard anymore

6b - Approaching a rest

Also I've heard people say 6a is the grade at which you can climb anywhere on high tor 

which, of course, explains why Bastille gets 6b

I’m not really sure what you mean here, or what else you expected. Obviously the same move will feel harder for one person than another. A 5b move will feel harder for a 4a climber than it will for a 6c climber.

Likewise someone who only ever climbs slabs would find themselves dropping a couple of grades on roof climbs. 

Naturally!

I didn't say I agreed with it or our "broken above E3" grading system though :') but that's probably another ukc thread 

Thanks Lankyman. You saved me having to think up a condescending reply to BdB

I think UK technical grades are much the same as any other grading system for climbing, scrambling and mountaineering in so much that they cannot be measured in absolute terms but have to be used as a comparison with other routes of the grade.  So as far as I can see, the only way to appreciate what a grade means is to do a variety of routes or moves at a given grade and see how hard that grade feels to you.

Because grades span a variety of rock types and styles, it takes a while to gain the experience to make a 'fair's assessment of difficulty and, in practice,  guidebook grades are a consensus gained from many climbers' input. 

I'd say reading the guide book and looking at the route from below is about the best possible way to work out what to expect when you pull on. It's an essential skill of any apprenticeship.