Jump to content

does a nw 5.10 equal 5.8 in the valley?


markwebster

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 78
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

I second the "must jam" theory. Classic Crack (5.8+) in leavenworth absolutely killed me.

 

I chatted with a Leavenworth local after he free soloed a few laps on Classic Crack and he said he feels there is no way he could fall off of it because of the secure jams.

 

I'm on the side of the people who say it's about your crack technique in the absence of face holds or features. How popular do you think Outer Space would be (and what would it be rated) if the headwall didn't have all of those chickenheads?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

better question might be does a 5.10 face climb = 5.8 crack climb?

 

And from what I've seen, trying to face climb a crack seems to increase the difficulty by about 2 or 3 grades so yeah, that's probably about right. (had a chance to watch a couple burgeoning crack climbers who typically follow/gym-climb at 10b/10c but get shutdown at about 5.8+/5.9 when they have to actually climb a crack directly. They both lead at their upper limit about 5.8 cracks on gear, and 10a sport at (Vantage, Smith, etc maybe a wee bit harder at E38)

 

Whether a 5.8 NW crack = 5.8 Yos crack is a different question and as i've never been blessed enough to climb in Yos i have no idea what so ever! cry.gif

 

Now this is a funny post...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

maybe you need to go retro bolt it? then it wouldn't be "scary" canary anymore...

 

Rumr, as usual, you make me laugh. Mostly because, you have know idea who I am, because you don’t know my past. (which is clear by you last statement). Since you have not climbed canary, I will let it slid. Ha Ha Ha. rockband.gifrockband.gifrockband.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

maybe you need to go retro bolt it? then it wouldn't be "scary" canary anymore...

 

Rumr, as usual, you make me laugh. Mostly because, you have know idea who I am, because you don’t know my past. (which is clear by you last statement). Since you have not climbed canary, I will let it slid. Ha Ha Ha. rockband.gifrockband.gifrockband.gif

 

kevbone - I don't even bother to read your posts anymore - on my screen they just say

 

*** You are Laughing at this User, er Loser ***

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I chatted with a Leavenworth local after he free soloed a few laps on Classic Crack and he said he feels there is no way he could fall off of it because of the secure jams.

 

Yeah... It's an easy solo.

 

gorilla_beating_chest.gif

 

 

 

How popular do you think Outer Space would be (and what would it be rated) if the headwall didn't have all of those chickenheads?

 

I've climbed it without the chicken heads. 5.8.

 

gorilla_beating_chest.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

kevbone, you're killing me. half the time you say this site is "not real" and then the other half of the time you get pissy when people rip on you. so which is it?

 

and either way, keep it up. i love me some free entertainment at work.

 

about canary, i did think the final belly flop - i mean, mantle - on P1 was a bit stiff for 5-8. but just because moves are greasy and awkward doesn't mean the grade should get inflated. and the P2 step-across move is fine for 5-8.

 

and going back the other way, how can air guitar possibly be harder than 5-9? i kept waiting for the 10b part, and got a little spooked as i passed the plaque, and then it was over. is that typical grading for vantage?

 

my vote for sandbag is litle wing at beacon. it goes at 5-8, but never quite feels that way. anyone wanna back me up on that? (besides kevbone, since he's had it wired since the 90s)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

cobra, about little wing:

 

it's the old "if every single move is the same, do you rate the climb the same grade as those moves, or do you bump the climb's grade up a bit" argument.

 

i agree that it's 5-8. as in, there's no 5-9 move on it, but a leader who has never led 5-9, but has led a handful of 5-8, could easily hang all over the upper half.

 

as for smith tuff, can we agree that lion's jaw is a good example of stiff 5-8? i took two beginners up that, and they barely got it, while they walked up 5-9 and 10a face climbs at smith.

 

also - and i wanna hear it - who has done cling on, on smith's backside? P1 is greasy and hard for 5-8, but P2 is about as hard a 5-9 as i've ever even followed. i bet it gets climbed once a month, tops.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

both may be 5.8 but lj and cling-on are totally different climbs serving different climbers. cling-on is a full-on jug haul where lions jaw could be climbed w/ feet only. cling-on is tiring and lends itself to bold movements, but there are some pretty big holds on there.

 

I bet that first pitch of clingon gets climbed fairly regularly.

 

smith face and crack (on the tuff) are sorta hard to compare at the lower grades. which is all I know about smile.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

as for smith tuff, can we agree that lion's jaw is a good example of stiff 5-8? i took two beginners up that, and they barely got it...

 

I think Lions Jaw is soft for 5.8, I've led it in Tevas. *thump* *thump*. I don't think Canary and Castle Rock in general are overrated at all, either. Canary is "thoughtprovoking" 5.8, but its not particularly hard, while I think other routes on Castle like Fault-Catapult-Bone, MF Overhang, are spot on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Air Guitar is 10a in Yoder's book, and it is notceably softer than George and Martha, which is softer than just about any 10 I've climbed in Leavenworth. But again, different styles as the cracks at vantage are steeper than most moderate cracks in leavenworth.

Didn't a guy die on Air Guitar about a year or so ago? Popped off that move right before topping out?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It might be "old skool" 5.8+, but its really not that tough, a few tricky moves with generally good pro. Decent rests. It'd probably be 5.8+ at Index too, and 5.10a at ex32/38. The old bolt up there is crap though.

 

Bottom line is that if you are arguing Leavenworth or Index (or Yosemite) ratings, you need to get away from the local crags and take a roadtrip back East and climb at the Gunks, Seneca, Adirondacks, the New River Gorge, or the like...the cragging climbs out East are generally stiffer than anything in Washington, much more on par with Index and Castle. I climbed just a few routes at the New but just about every one of them was damn hard, except a few over at Kaymoor(?). Also Tahquitz or Suicide, JTree. Anyplace where there is a longer history of trad climbing, before "sport climbing" hit in the late 80s.

Edited by Alex
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...