UKC

British tech part II

I wasn't really fully content with Mick's answer. I mean, take for example, The New statesman, E8 7a, right? Alex Honnold calls it French 8a+... How often, if ever, do you find even an 8A boulder crux on an 8a+? I'd say never, and now a 7a move is supposed to be is even harder? I also know there are some routes with a 7b tech grade, like The great arête, Samson, Ultimate Sculpture and a few more. Ben Moon repeated the great arête, calling it 8B, but according to what Mick says, that can't be right as it features a 7b single move which, just by itself should be 8B...
I told Mick the above, and he told me I should get in touch with Simon Panton of North Wales Bouldering.
"He thinks long and hard about such things" Said and done, I asked Simon.
And the truth, if there is such a thing, seems to be something like this:
You could get a British tech 7a move on a Font 7B+ problem, particularly if it was a single move, like a dyno.
A Font 8A problem could have a 7b move, and a single move V6/Font 7A problem could have a British 6c move. Font 7A equates to about French 7b+, which in old school British grades, and assuming it was a short cruxy route would mean top end E5 6c (or alternatively if it was a more typical long and pumpy route: bottom end E6 6b).
Tech grades are still used, especially by older, more experienced climbers in the UK. They do have their limitations though, which is why we all use either Font grades or V grades as well.

So, that's it. Makes sense to me, even though my personal opinion is that tech grades are redundant...

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