UKC

I don't often look at the graphs on my logbook, and even less often look at the 'trad' graph.
I've got a 'Severe' average and can proudly state that I am a true punter
Has anyone else got a really wide variance from their average on these graphs?

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

It seems that my hardest lead grade is going up while my average is going down. Give it another decade and I'll be leading an E5 and a hundred mods per year.

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

Adjectival grades really only apply to onsights... reassess using that. Mine is probably Severe and I've climbed approaching 99% of the routes below VS on the Eastern Edges.

In reply to Offwidth:

I don't 'do' trad anymore, at least not with a rope, so my mean Severe and max E3 are solos (while I'm out bouldering).
It's difficult to assess 'onsight' when you've operated out of Nottingham and Sheffield into the peak for a long time.
Still very proud to be a punter though!!

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

Mainly talking about mulitple counting the same easier routes.

Also, as you well know, adjectival grades don't mean the same solo. Plenty of bold extremes leads feel pretty much the same as a beta solo as headpoint and a lot easier than beta soloing some awkward protectable VS climbs. There are a few VDiffs out there I know well but never like soloing and others like Mutiny Crack I used to regularly warm up on solo in approach shoes. A friend and I toyed with a producing a beta solo graded list to illustrate the point how poor the alignment with adjectival grades can be.

In reply to Offwidth:


I think it would apply just as well to onsight solos?

In reply to Michael Gordon:

A brave game that. Most grit soloists know the routes or are operating well below their limit. The list order I have for my rarer onsight solos would be different again from the beta solo list.

In reply to Offwidth:

Certainly when onsight one wants to be operating a good way below their limit! I agree that the overall grade only has some bearing on which routes you'd go for (whether onsight or not).

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

The average grade is calculated taking into account all the grade bands, including HVD, MVS, etc. There are relatively few routes in the UK at those grades, but they (presumably) get equal standing in the calculation. This has the effect of dragging down the average. The trick is not to take much stock in the average grade, but this is easier said than done, and in the case of the hardened UKC logbook aficionado, coming to terms with this blow can take years, and may require professional help.

In reply to bpmclimb:

Don't knock MVS. That's my average grade

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

What exactly do you mean by "punter" ?
My dictionary gives:
informal, chiefly Brit. a person who gambles, places a bet, or makes a risky investment.
• a customer or client, especially a member of an audience.
• a prostitute's client.

In reply to Erstwhile:

Ask Andi Turner he also claims to be one.

In reply to Offwidth:

It's soloing the grit VSs which scare me the most, way more than the extremes!,

In reply to Erstwhile:


In this context, someone who has the same average grade as the average UKC trad grade.
Or if you're Ben Moon, it means not carrying enough quick draws up 'Statement' when you repeat at nearly 50 years old 'I'm such a punter'

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

I see - thanks for the elucidation.
Someone who "doesn't excel in any particular way or makes typical blunders" sort of thing (it appears).

In reply to Erstwhile:

The late Derek Hersey was wont to greet folks with the immortal line, "Eye up, punter!"

(Punter) Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

I think came across the term while working part time in outdoor retail (late 80s)to refer to customers and had also heard it used by some outdoor instructors I knew to refer to clients probably in both cases from "one who spends". I'm not sure if it made it's way from this to replacing bumbly for low grade clumsy climber directly or by some other means.

In reply to ultrabumbly:

I suspect that Derek was gently reminding us that when we care to glance at the great scheme of things, a soupcon of humility might not go amiss.

Mick