I agree somewhat with some of the stuff Mr. Bushwhacker says. Some lines, like this Tempest Route, climb crack systems where there is not much opportunity for variation and the line is pretty straight forward. Other climbs are more on features where some of the harder pitches may be somewhat contrived - or not.
When we climbed the NE Ridge of Mt Alberta, for example (not a FA)one could have probably gone around some of the harder pitches and into a chossy 4th class gully. On Castle Peak, we could have gone into the waterfall salad filled gash and circumvented the crux pitch. Aesthetics dictated a more direct line though.