UKC

In reply to Jack Geldard - Editor - UKC:
Awesome article, cheers!! Looking forward to the bouldering one!

In reply to Jack Geldard - Editor - UKC:
Great round-up, an interesting read.
Any reason you didn't include any grades? I know it shouldn't all be about grades but I think I would have found it more informative with them included. We're talking about people who are pushing boundaries so it would be nice to know where the boundaries are.

In reply to Luke90:

Problem with grades at the top end Luke is that often they are a bunch of bullshit, especially where the E grade is involved.

Best to be taken as ball park, not set it stone, despite some headlines (some in print) that persuade some otherwise.

As regards the boundaries, numbers don't do that justice. An E7/8 on sight to an E11/12 headpoint are probably similar despite the difference in number.

Trust Jack's picks, ignore the numbers (they are quasi meaningless)...there are a handful of climbers who have pushed the boat out this year, not one or two; anything less is disrespectful.

Mick

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:
I'd agree with everything you said there and I certainly wouldn't quibble with any of Jack's choices. Having said that, almost everyone who reads UKC would understand that any grades have to taken with a pinch of salt and at the end of the day there's a reason you put grades in all your normal news reports, despite any problems with them they're still informative and interesting.

In reply to Jack Geldard - Editor - UKC:

Great article, Jack. A nice, balanced round-up of the year.

In reply to Luke90:

dont push it. Anyone not living under a brick understands the grade debate surrounding this years ascents. This article is about honoring an amazing year of climbing, and it does exactly that. Feel free to go look at previous discussions concerning the grade of different routes if you really feel the urge to fight... i can assure you that all routes mentioned are at the pinnacle of climbing excellence and wont be forgotten... i say again... what a year!

A brilliant article i might add.

In reply to Silum:
You seem to be reading more into what I wrote than I intended and I certainly wasn't looking for a fight. Some of the grades are obviously particularly contentious but that's no reason to leave them all off. I just looked back at the 2007 trad roundup and there were grades in that.
I loved the article and just wanted to constructively say that I would have loved it even more with some grades to give a bit of perspective without having to go and look them up for any route I was interested in.

In reply to Jack Geldard - Editor - UKC:

That was a good read, thanks Jack. That Dave Birkett route looks insane and surely a contender for route name of the year?

In reply to Jack Geldard - Editor - UKC:

Good round up Jack but with a couple of interesting omissions...

No mention of the ground up ascents of The Promise for a start - I know it happened quite recently but it was big news.

Second, Dave Birkett onsighting My Piano E8 this year - surely one of the most impressive achievements of the year being as he is now 40 (I think!).

Third, no mention of the Lakes in general (surely a year can't have gone by without Dave B putting up a hard new route there!!!) or of George Ullrich (sp?), who I thought repeated a whole load of Dave Birkett's routes plus got within a whisker of a boltless ascent of the Bachar-Yerian route.

In reply to Jack Geldard - Editor - UKC:

No mention of the development of the majestic "Fence Crag" in Torridon - tut tut!


http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=8841

In reply to Luke90:

Such touching optimism - have you read the various grade threads over the last month or two?!

In reply to Mick and Jack - good article, enjoyable read, been lots going on this year!

In reply to Jack Geldard - Editor - UKC:

A great summary and good article. You should be the editor!?

In reply to Luke90:

your right i guess i was reading into it sorry, just quite a few threads go down in a flaming ball of firey ashes due to grade debates.

In reply to Jack Geldard - Editor - UKC: I would have liked to have seen less of an emphasis on headpoint ascents.