UKC

I'm not sure if this has changed recently due to not having bought one of the newer guides (last few years) yet, but it's a question on the colour coding of grade ranges.

Based on the guides I own it's currently:

Green: 0-4+
Orange: 5-6a+
Red: 6b-7a
Black: 7a+ - 9b

When scanning a page it would be nice to have black for say, 7a+-7c+, and then an additional colour for routes of a higher grade. I don't use the colour system that much and I just look at the route list, but were it sensibly banded above 7a then it might be pretty useful.

Whilst it's a little pedantic, would it not be worth separating out this huge grade range that black offers. With the number of people operating in the 7's and 8's now, people often look for crags with these ranges on them?

In reply to James Malloch:
I vote for purple

Are there actually that many people operating at 7a+ compared with the other bands? Actually that should really be are there actually that many people operating at 8a and above to justify having their own band.

Also, don't forget that the colour system also encompasses trad and bouldering.

In reply to Michael Hood:

Maybe less so in the 8a and above band (though there's still a good amount), but I imagine there are many in the 7's who might like find it a useful addition.

As an example, when I go on a trip I generally look for routes 7a-7c+. And I like to look at the topos, try to work out what looks good, and then scan through and check the grade of it. I often find a line that looks great, and it's got a black label, which then turns out to be in the 8/9's and way out of my league.

It's also a bit annoying when you visit a crag that's all 7a+ and above, there could be 50 routes but there's no way to distinguish between them on a topo.

Re trad and bouldering, I don't actually own a RF guide with them in (other than Peak lime but I just aim for the sport sections...). But it's a fair point.

In reply to James Malloch:

Line drawings were sometimes better than photos. Sometimes.