UKC

Are the climbing grades in Ratho soft??? Having visited a few different indoor venues lately I found Ratho grades rather ambitious! 6C equal to 6A+ elsewhere, 7B perhaps 6C+ etc Anyone else found this?

In reply to Azwhite:

which of the 7b's do you think are 6c+?

In reply to Azwhite: well, in the last few months I've climbed at The Quay, Boulders, Undercover Rock, Bear Rock, Westway, The Beacon & Ratho and to be perectly honest the grades don't seem all that out of kilter between them all. The occasional soft touch route, the occasional tough bastard, but really not that different all told.

In reply to Azwhite: Are you sure the differences aren't font and english grades?

In reply to Azwhite:

I definitely agree, even in comparison with Alien Rock I think Ratho grades are a touch soft. Having said that, Ratho is a bit different from many walls, with a typical route being longer and steeper but less technical -- so grades will be a bit hard to compare.

In reply to dutybooty:

Bouldering at Ratho uses V-grades so I assume the OP is talking about French sports grades. (OP - using capital letters e.g. 6C can imply a Font bouldering grade)

In reply to Azwhite:

I always thought something similar, although I assumed that it was because the routes were longer and so a lower grade would be experienced as more difficult.

In reply to Azwhite:

The routes thre are much longer and more sustained than most other walls, so the grades (correctly) reflect this accordingly. It's just another type of grade 'x', same as outdoors.

I must say, none of the 7b's I've been on have felt like 6c+. Which ones are you thinking of?

In reply to Azwhite:

Genuinely no offence meant here, but looking at the grades on your profile's climb list and you're dogging F6a+ routes at Kirriehill....are you really best placed to suggest the grading of F7b routes are soft?

In reply to Fraser: No offence taken, and thats my point, if I can on my second attempt cleanly climb a 6C+ and have more than a good stab at anything rated as 7 then surely the grades are soft compared to other venues??? I must also state that I am talking about the top rope routes, not the lead stuff.

In reply to Azwhite:

Hmm, that's interesting, because when I've tried to TR routes about that grade, I find them feeling harder than the lead equivalent. (I'd assumed that they factored in the fact you are on a TR.) There are a couple of F7b's to the rhs of the tower which feel pretty punchy for 7B - one I couldn't get past a stopper-move at 1/2 or 2/3 height, so I'd definitely say that one wasn't soft.

Overall, though I've generally found the (leading) routes at Ratho to be well graded. I've not climbed at that many other walls tbh, but compared to outdoors routes, I think they're pretty accurate. The setters are all a very decent bunch and have climbed extensively, so in theory at least, they should know what a given grade is. I understand that Gaz Vincent now grades all the routes (it might just be the lead ones however) and he's pretty gnarly - I find the routes he sets to be among the hardest for their grade.

In reply to Fraser:

Agree. Climbed there a couple of times this year leading or attempting up to 7b on the routes on the main wall and they were either bang-on or hard for the grade.

In reply to Azwhite:

I think the routes you are talking about were set for a Youth Series Competition a few weeks ago. I understand that such routes tend to start easy and get harder, which may account for the impression of under-grading.

In reply to kdr001:

...or even over-grading!

In reply to kdr001:

Pretty sure it's not the comp. routes - see 12:30 post: he/she's talking about top rope routes, but I'm not yet sure which ones.

In reply to Azwhite:i think that sounds fairly conclusive, it just seemed odd to me that seemingly my grades jumped. I don't climb at ratho that often, and don't profess to be Chris Sharma so i was interested to find out what others thought.

In reply to Fraser:


I thought the French grade was given for the hardest part of the climb, and didn't reflect length. The limited amount of sports climbing I've done in France seemed to fit in with this view. I'd be grateful if someone could shed more light on this.

In reply to Fraser: I'd have thought that too, but the grading notices on the routes to the right of the tower briefly indicated 'YCS route'.

In reply to Charlie_Zero:



The French grade is for the whole route.

If it is cruxy or has a an especially hard section the grade will focus on that.

Conversely if length has a bearing on the overall difficulty with it being continuously pumpy with poor rests without individually hard moves then the grade willl focus on that.

Comparisons are usually drawn with benchmark routes of similar character to arrive at a grade.

In reply to Azwhite:

Probably not best placed to comment as I've only climber at Ibrox and Ratho and at about 6a+, but I'd agree that the route length is taken into account at Ratho. The 6a up the tower is barely more than a ladder, there are harder 5's at Ibrox, but it does go on for substantially longer. The shorter length routes all felt comparable to me, in fact most were a little tougher than I expected.

In reply to kdr001:

Ahhhh yes! Now I remember - someone telling me one of those harder TR routes in that area was the 7 y.o. girls' route or something! <:-?

In reply to Taurig: I am glad i am not the only one, similarly I've not had loads of experience at different venues but at my local place i would struggle to get off the ground on on anything starting with a 7, however at ratho i get to within three moves from the top of one!

In reply to Azwhite:

Sounds like you must have been on the 7 year old girls YCS Final route, super easy up until the last 3 moves...