Posted by Karl Lunt on April 10, 2006 at 20:06:28:
In Reply to: Re: The Hoff Eden Valley posted by Ron Kenyon on April 10, 2006 at 12:20:19:
Hi Ron
Can't someone invent a grading machine?! My boredom threshold is too low for "real" bouldering so everything is a route to me which I either solo,lead or second. As for Windmore - would you really boulder (or solo) some of the less solid lines? You could have two grade categories - one for mattress carriers and one for trad dinosaurs but that would probably be a pain. I haven't been to The Hoff or Windmore for a while but I recall that they are both of a similar order of height so you might argue that both venues could be bouldering venues or both crags where leading was the norm. If you decide to go with bouldering grades then you need to decide what a boulder problem actually is - how high, how many moves etc - and stick rigidly to it. I can see how some lines at Windmore could be thought of as problems as they are relatively short and don't have much in the way of gear but then other lines definitely do feel like "proper" routes - especially if you don't have a mattress underneath. Anyway, I thought Stew Wilson sorted this all out years ago by winching climbers of various sizes into position to climb and grade crux moves on routes. It appeared in print so it must be true!