glassgowkiss Posted November 3, 2012 Posted November 3, 2012 So the headlines state all over Ondra did two 9a (14d) routes in RRG. In the meantime the mentioned ascensions downrated them to 8c+ (one soft, one hard) 14c. So why are the media still writing 9a OS, since they look like overrated ? BTW- friggin amazing regardless of the grade question. Quote
matt_warfield Posted November 3, 2012 Posted November 3, 2012 (edited) Ondra is firing on all cylinders at present so the media and locals (who are licking their wounds) want consensus since he is making things look easy. Woods is backing Ondra but he is also firing on all cylinders. Watch out if either one visits your local crag. Wonder what they would think about the grades at Squamish? Edited November 3, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote
el jefe Posted November 3, 2012 Posted November 3, 2012 how can any of this be more important than plaidman's new route at the steeple? Quote
glassgowkiss Posted November 5, 2012 Author Posted November 5, 2012 Wonder what they would think about the grades at Squamish? Good one Matt. However the new crop of routes in Squamish have pretty stiff ratings (like The White Feather, or other routes on North side) Quote
matt_warfield Posted November 5, 2012 Posted November 5, 2012 (edited) Top line sportos might pucker on lines different than half pad crimps and one or two finger pockets on lifestone or tuff. Squamish's "soft" ratings have given pause to many not used to granite slab, subtle face, and crack of a variety of widths. Edited November 5, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote
RuMR Posted November 6, 2012 Posted November 6, 2012 Top line sportos might pucker on lines different than half pad crimps and one or two finger pockets on lifestone or tuff. Squamish's "soft" ratings have given pause to many not used to granite slab, subtle face, and crack of a variety of widths. Then again, hell might freeze over too... Quote
matt_warfield Posted November 6, 2012 Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) Top line sportos might pucker on lines different than half pad crimps and one or two finger pockets on lifestone or tuff. Squamish's "soft" ratings have given pause to many not used to granite slab, subtle face, and crack of a variety of widths. Then again, hell might freeze over too... I am not sure how many times hell has frozen over but it has happened enough times on the rock to make a glacier. Slab and off-hands and offwidths with no hand holds and bad weather are great equalizers for starters. Start with Pipeline free solo, go to Unfunished Symphony, then to left side of Split Pillar, then the locals can give more suggestions. Squamish can represent. Edited November 6, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote
RuMR Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 Top line sportos might pucker on lines different than half pad crimps and one or two finger pockets on lifestone or tuff. Squamish's "soft" ratings have given pause to many not used to granite slab, subtle face, and crack of a variety of widths. Then again, hell might freeze over too... I am not sure how many times hell has frozen over but it has happened enough times on the rock to make a glacier. Slab and off-hands and offwidths with no hand holds and bad weather are great equalizers for starters. Start with Pipeline free solo, go to Unfunished Symphony, then to left side of Split Pillar, then the locals can give more suggestions. Squamish can represent. Are you seriously saying that someone who is onsighting 9a is gonna have much of a hard time with the split (either side) or pipeline (solo = stupid, doesn't affect the rating)???? ROTFL Ethan Pringle is an example of a high end "sporto" who made the transition to gear/trad/whatever in a season, culminating in a rapid ascent of Squamish's current trad testpiece (Cobra Crack). Plus, anyone climbing at a 9a (or even 8a) onsight level will very very quickly adjust to "granite slab, subtle face, and crack of a variety of widths..." if they so choose to. The level of climbing is going through the roof. Another example is 11 year old Mirko...several 5.14 ascents. You wanna guess what his first crack climb was? Bachar Cracker, yup...a V4 boulder problem...Now, take a guess of what his second crack climb was...Oh, alright, i'll tell you. The Rostrum, onsight. Make no mistake, a high end sport climber is a climber. They are bold, and they learn quick. There is no magic to granite grades, just a little bit of mileage. Quote
RuMR Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) PS: I won't even mention Drew... Edited November 13, 2012 by RuMR Quote
matt_warfield Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) Rumr, I agree with you in principle, especially with the top end. My comment was about how many sport climbers "underneath" the top end would get schooled when there is not a hold but a jam or a stem or a hand stack. I'd just like to see Pringle Leavitate on an offwidth. BTW I witnessed Pringle on Just Do It at Smith so I know what he can do. I'm just sayin'. And Drew is awesome. Edited November 13, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote
glassgowkiss Posted November 13, 2012 Author Posted November 13, 2012 Top line sportos might pucker on lines different than half pad crimps and one or two finger pockets on lifestone or tuff. Squamish's "soft" ratings have given pause to many not used to granite slab, subtle face, and crack of a variety of widths. Then again, hell might freeze over too... I am not sure how many times hell has frozen over but it has happened enough times on the rock to make a glacier. Slab and off-hands and offwidths with no hand holds and bad weather are great equalizers for starters. Start with Pipeline free solo, go to Unfunished Symphony, then to left side of Split Pillar, then the locals can give more suggestions. Squamish can represent. what represents Squamish is Cobra Crack and climbs of the new generation done by Stanhope and crew. your list is for an average upper end weekend climber. Quote
matt_warfield Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) GGK, Of course Cobra Crack is state of the art but BC also has a host of other climbs that are above the level I previously reported: - University Wall - Eurasian Eyes - Pulse - Captain America - Dream Catcher From bottom to top, they may catch the attention of of most climbers. And I still have a hard time seeing Ondra free soloing Pipeline onsight. Edited November 13, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote
RuMR Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 not sure what soloing some route has to do with anything grade-wise...why would he, in his right mind, want to solo it anyways? For bonus points on his 8a.nu card??? :rofl: Quote
matt_warfield Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) I agree in principle. But the "soft" grade Squamish thread made me want to point out routes or the way they were done as a potential challenge to top sport climbers. That's all. And the FA of Pipeline was due to a girlfriend breakup. What better reason could there be? Edited November 13, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote
RuMR Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 maybe we should go back to hobnailed boots, and goldline and call everything 5.9 or 5.9+ too.... Quote
el jefe Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 stop being dense, rudy. everyone knows the reason the top sportos don't go to squamish is that they don't want to be seen struggling on apron strings, exasperator, etc. our granite routes are soooo much harder than anything those decadent euros have... besides, i still don't see how any of this red river gorge stuff is more interesting than plaidman's new route on the steeple. Quote
Kimmo Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 Are you seriously saying that someone who is onsighting 9a is gonna have much of a hard time with the split (either side) or pipeline (solo = stupid, doesn't affect the rating)???? ROTFL hell's yeah solo affects (apparent) rating!!! 5.9 slippery slab onsite can have a magical way of transforming itself into a hell of an affair when the rope ain't there to catch ya! and we have no idea what anyone might do on a particular route. would i bet against ondra on split left? well that's silly! but i have taken a 5.14+ climber to index before.... let's just say granite has a way of messing with ya if ya ain't used to it. Quote
RuMR Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 who said anything about soloing 5.9 slippery slab? Plus ropeless on sport routes has the same magical way with those ratings...don'tcha think? I qualified my statements by saying "There is no magic to granite grades, just a little bit of mileage."...reading comprehension, dear boy! Also these routes quoted by Matt are sport routes (hell, two of them aren't even in squamish): - Eurasian Eyes - Pulse - Captain America - Dream Catcher Dream Catcher, and Captain America were all put up by "sportos" (although Mike did spend a fair bit of time at Index). Pulse and Eurasion Eyes are sandford routes i believe...also a sporto... Point is 9a (or 8c+ now, i guess) onsighting is cutting edge for the time being and a comment like "I'd like to see him solo some offwidth" is so corny, it kills me... Quote
RuMR Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 and i'm totally being tongue in cheek using the term "sporto"...btw Quote
Kimmo Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) who said anything about soloing 5.9 slippery slab? i did, dear boy! I qualified my statements by saying "There is no magic to granite grades, just a little bit of mileage."...reading comprehension, dear boy! "just a little bit of mileage" that some top end sportos might not have. meaning: they might have some serious troubles on certain granite routes at first. logic, dear boy! i think climbing certain granite routes is almost a different sport altogether, especially when compared to the red. Edited November 13, 2012 by Kimmo Quote
matt_warfield Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) who said anything about soloing 5.9 slippery slab? Plus ropeless on sport routes has the same magical way with those ratings...don'tcha think? I qualified my statements by saying "There is no magic to granite grades, just a little bit of mileage."...reading comprehension, dear boy! Also these routes quoted by Matt are sport routes (hell, two of them aren't even in squamish): - Eurasian Eyes - Pulse - Captain America - Dream Catcher Dream Catcher, and Captain America were all put up by "sportos" (although Mike did spend a fair bit of time at Index). Pulse and Eurasion Eyes are sandford routes i believe...also a sporto... Point is 9a (or 8c+ now, i guess) onsighting is cutting edge for the time being and a comment like "I'd like to see him solo some offwidth" is so corny, it kills me... Sandford did Eurasian Eyes and Pulse and did plenty of cracks and slab as well. Orr did Captain America and Sharma Dream Catcher. But the point is the ratings discussion and climbs "near" Squamish and none of those climbs will be downrated anytime soon. And most 5.14 climbers can easily fall off of 5.11 slab or 5.12 offwidth on granite. That is my point and seems to agree with Kimmo's. Pipeline FA free solo is perhaps not pertinent to this discussion, I admit, but I just love the story. Edited November 13, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote
RuMR Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 sure, and i'm a 5.14 sidewalker, but i trip on curbs and sidewalks occasionally... Quote
matt_warfield Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) sure, and i'm a 5.14 sidewalker, but i trip on curbs and sidewalks occasionally... And I fall off of 5.11 internet a lot. Edited November 13, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote
marc_leclerc Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 Wonder what they would think about the grades at Squamish? I know two or three 5.13's in the Smoke Bluffs I can pretty much guarantee Ondra himself wouldn't onsight. Beta flash with chalk on the holds perhaps Ondra is one kick-ass mutherfucker though. The tantrums are a bit over the top, it's like, "Bro, you just pumped off a 5.15 and it sounds like you shoved your dick in a blender, don't beat yourself up". But he seems to really love climbing and is really psyched to keep pushing limits, and is doing a VERY good job. Rock on Adam Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.