In reply to Ross McGibbon:
> But if a climber sets off intending to do the whole route but knows there is an escape, the difficulty remains the same but the seriousness and therefore grade are reduced.
I don't entirely agree with you there. The seriousness in the climber's mind is reduced, but the seriousness of the actual route doesn't alter. There are many routes that allow escapes onto easier ground but that doesn't alter the grade of the route itself.
If you look at the routes on the Orion Headwall for example, they're all VI's and VII's. The routes are generally difficult to assess from the bottom of the face, which means a team could reach the Basin and find that their chosen route isn't in condition (this happened time after time with Robin Clothier in his attempts to repeat Journey into Space). The team have possible escape options in the form of Epsilon Chimney (IV,4) or Orion Direct (V,5), both of which will be in condition otherwise they wouldn't even have considered a headwall route. I don't believe that this knowledge reduces the grade of the headwall routes, it simply gives a team easier alternatives.
> It's a wee bit strange that the dodges on TR & Aonach Beag became the standard route but NEB kept in the avoidable difficulties. Puts the importance of "routes" into question on big features like this.
I agree, but I think that NEB is all the better for it. Where you have a route like Observatory Ridge taking the line of least resistance, NEB takes the line of most resistance! However, the fact that the resistance on NEB can be avoided undoubtedly accounts for its popularity; Observatory Ridge requires more commitment but this "seriousness" is now reflected in it's V,4 grade.