piss easy bouldering grades in NS

[ben smith]

There are some piss easy problems in NS that are overgraded and others that are undergraded and no one talks about this. So now we have people from out of the province coming in and thinking we are a bunch of pebble wrasslers because many classic problems are Downy soft.
My list of softies
Ressurection (come on this frigging thing is v7/8 at best)
New Bolero (V8 again)
Ziggy stardust (V5)
l'ame et premier (with the jump beta v7 maybe)
tough sailors (v6)
fashion disaster (v4? climbed this lowball in the rain)
the roofy arete thing out in musquidobit (its rad but not v7)
tsunami (v7 sorry cassidy I hope we are still friends)
the long hard one (v9? maybe)
grizzly (v11/12?)
the crimpy slab at satillite is maybe a v5, I think that probably cassidys problem on the arete is the hardest thing on that boulder except for the ridiculous mantle that zig did
fine line (v11)
pushed (v8/9)
inbangyang (v7)
dynamitus (v6)
elephant collector (v6 with jump beta)
acrobat (v5 with jump beta)
rest day (i did this pile at kidston lake, its probably a 4, I was weak as flowers then, still am as a matter of fact)
z-haul (was v7 but now its all moved around so I don't know whats going on with it)
pitbull (v7)
levitate (v8?)
blacksmith (v6 with the mantle)
sciences feminines (v7)
Imanust (v7) again I was a fluffy pansy ass when I climbed this thing
also that goddamned eliminate thing at andy's area at chebucto is a 3 or 4 at best.
Nate says Kleos is soft (it probably is but I haven't climbed it yet)

There are tons more but these are the biggest suck-ass ego inflators around. Seriously if you climb these problems and it makes you think you are strong its not a good thing for your climbing, it set me back mentally for years thinking I was stronger than I am.

Probably a bunch of people will call me an nice person and an elitist for this but what can you do, these grades are soft and if you don't believe that then you're just as soft as they are. Man up yo!

[ben smith]

nice person =really nice person, sorry Fred but it doens't make any sense otherwise and since i'm calling myself names I hope you can let it go this time.

also chainsaw is soft and so is the long link up I did at chebucto (v10 maybe?)
and the bear with all the beta, and the squeezy arete to the right of it
but Stars Attack is frigging hard as nails and so is Low Tide now

more baby pablum soft grades to come...

[Holly Reid]

Hey Ben, is there some sort of constructive point to this rant? Something maybe you think should be done about it, or you just feel like being a Sally and complaining?

[chameleon]

yeah, what's up Sally?
though i must say, it's good to finally know what set you back mentally

[tracstarr]

well, i'm going to step in on this one... I agree that there are a few problems that are defiantly soft, and others not. However, as always a big factor in that is your own climbing style and body. It's never easy to give consistent grades that everyone is going to agree on. I've been in the US for almost 2 years now, and let me tell you the grading around here is beyond ridiculous.

Also, as you get stronger and climb more, you're going to find that grades that one were harder and you considered valid are no longer that. For you Ben, i would say tsunami is defiantly one of those. I've seen you walk all over that thing like it was nothing. But you've also probably done it more than 20 times by now I still think it's a valid 9, that thing is long, requires good beta, good foot work, and strong biceps for the last half. But i totally agree that blacksmith with the mantle is much easier than the dyno. Resurrection is probably not a 7, but i'm not sure it's a valid 10 either.

Eventually you'll just get tired of caring about the grades or what anyone else things of them. It makes bouldering much more enjoyable. Just climb the flowers that's hard for you and be done with it. There is some sweet bouldering in NS and I miss that compared to a lot of the over crowded and contrived lines in these parts. Personally, let the outsiders think we like our Downey.... we can keep all the good stuff to ourselves that way!

[Fred]

nice person =really nice person, sorry Fred but it doens't make any sense otherwise

Have at er. I'm taking my own heat in the NB forum. Maybe you can deflect some attention your way.

[ben smith]

I think its important to have solid grades because lets face it, for most climbers that's how they judge their progress, and to think that you are progressing and getting stronger when really you are just sieving out the softer graded problems and not actually trying hard is not good for the progression of climbing. I know these changes aren't going in a guide book and most people will just write this off as the retarded gibberish of a jaded ass, but I'd like to at least put this out there and expose these weak problems for what they are, seriously if I hear one more poofter say that they are a "V10" climber for climbing Resurrection I'm going to flowers a kidney.

[ben smith]

flowers= flowers

[Capt. Amazing]

I think it hardly matters if some people think they are V10 climbers or not. That is up to them and their egos. I didn't realize you were an authority on how climbers should judge their progress, let them think what they want and progress how they want to. I'm sure they are trying hard to send what they are sending, the effort and the challenge is the point, not the grade.

[tracstarr]

true, for most people, including myself when i started out, it WAS all about grades. It helps you push yourself to climb harder. And with that same thought, even if a grade is soft and you think you're a v10 climber all of a sudden, i still think there is some merit in there. That thought alone is enough to get someone trying other legit v10s or other hard stuff to push their limits they may not have otherwise thought of getting on. Not everyone says hey, i'm going to try climbing something 3-4 grades harder than i ever have before, and possibly spend weeks working it.

Also, you can't let it get to you that someone else thinks they are a v10 climber for climbing a soft grade. Let them think what they want, their climbing of anything considered a legit grade will prove them otherwise. It also comes off as a bit of i'm better than you attitude the wrong way.

Now since Resurrection seems to be the hot soft grade here, i'll add my 3 cents. As far as i understand, it was the first v10 grade in NS, and at the time was considered the hardest problem going. That's enough to warrant calling it a v10 at that time. We've all seen that over time things change...the crap about there now being v16s for example. Climbing is becoming more popular and more and more strong climbers are leaving their mark. What use to be considered v10 and hard as flowers is not necessarily the case anymore. Also, once there is an established grade, it's almost impossible to have it changed for what it really should (or shouldn't) be. It just becomes known for what it is (or is not). I really like that problem. It took me many days in the bitter cold to finally figure it out, but now i could repeat it in a go or two. It's a sweet line that I think is still a must have on most peoples tick list, no matter what the grade.

Damn i wish i was bouldering in NS again. Anyway, back to the gunks this weekend

[Capt. Amazing]

very well said my friend

[ben smith]

Resurrection was one of the first "v10s" in the province along with New bolero. Because of this you would expect them to conform to the old school hard as nails 5.9++ type of grading. Unfortunately in both cases new beta was found rendering both much easier using the new methods (the old methods may or may not be v10). So in effect we now have NS benchmark problems which should be the standard (or slightly sandbagged for the grade, see Full Service in Hueco for an classic example) which are instead standard benchmarks for v8 or v9. Unfortunately the NS way has been to live and let live and not worry too much about grades (except zig is pretty good about downgrading some lines) and its caused this nasty old impacted colon of overinflated grades which act as ego boosters and let people continue to "progress" i.e send problems with a higher number rating without too much effort.

I care about this flowers because I think that soft ass grades are detrimental to the progress of the sport especially in areas without tons of strong visiting climbers with the sack to tell the locals that their grading is inflated and they need to get stronger.

Capt amazing- I don't care what people are climbing on and the effort and challenge are still there whether its a v1 or a v14 depending on the climber but if the v1 is graded as a v14 and no one has the sack to question the assigned grade then sport stagnates because everyone can achieve the highest achievement of the sport without much difficulty.

[tracstarr]

i just sent a v17! whoot whoot!

[Eager]

Wow,

Dude, what's wrong with the grades. I agree Ressurection is more V9ish. Gamey Bird is probably V10 Benchmark or High Tide? But then again I've never climbed V10 so I can't say. The Grind was hard but that doesn't exist anymore. And what problems from what area are you comparing grades in NS to? Go send a project and spray.

When are you gonna climb something hard Ben, or are you still flailing on Grizzly pretending that it was hard? Geez if you had any technique you'd probably have sent that thing a lot quicker and downgraded that. Anyone who works something for awhile finds that the moves get easier. You can't compare grades when you have nothing to compare them to.

I flashed two V5's at the gym yesterday here in Portland, I guess I'm a V5 climber.

[chossmonkey]

nice person =really nice person, sorry Fred but it doens't make any sense otherwise

Fred doesn't have that kind of time.

Frankly I really don't either anymore, but I can make time.

[mick]

You mean I'm not a v6 climber?? But I sent Aquaman....

As a weak-ass climber who nearly got shut the hell down on a v2 last night, I'm glad there's finally a definitive Smizzle-approved list of what's hot and what's not so my ego doesn't run away with me. Maybe we should just switch it all to E-grades to capture "the whole experience of the first ascentionist".

That said, Rockmaster Flash(ed) When Stars Attacks first go last night and I'm sure he'll be relieved to learn that it's a true v7. Funny, cause he made it look more like a v4... Time for a downgrade?

[seanT]

B1 ...can do it first try
B2 ...takes a few tries
B3 ...project
nuff said!

Anyone that spends that much time worrying about grades needs to learn how to breath thru thier nose.

[Capt. Amazing]

i just drank a V8, it went down easy...HAH

[Adam]

Anyone that spends that much time worrying about grades needs to learn how to breath thru thier nose.

/seconded

[chameleon]

I think our collective soft-man status is partly due to the fact that we all cuss with such flowery language. Ben is the worst..."flowers = flowers". Come on man, where are your Begonias?

Bla, bla, bla, grades suk......my Aster! You know you love 'em.
If there's gonna be grades, we might as well make em accurate. Inaccurate spraying is just intolerable.

But the great thing about bouldering in NS is that there are enough of you buttercup pebble wrasslers that it should be possible to reach consensus grading. Of course some of the grades Zig put in the guide are gonna be off, but he had to start somewhere.

I'm not familiar with all the problems you cited Ben, but here are my thoughts:

Ziggy stardust (V5) - original grade
Tough sailors (v6) - yeah that's about right
Tsunami (V8) - original grade; harder for short folks
The Wave (V4) – definitely soft for V5
Benserrection (v9) – no comment

[Zamboni]

Ben,

Thanks for the tick list. Now I have some work to do.

Cb.

[ben smith]

here are some more
green jug in grover (v6? really?)
white trash (probably decent v6 or maybe a 7)

I'm sorry a bunch of ex-pat Nova Scotians are getting a little butthurt that their precious baby resurrection is on the chopping block. Grizzly is on that list too and so are a bunch of FAs that I did Eager, that flowers is all soft and I was a tard for thinking I was a hardass for climbing it. I get the sneaking suspicion however that a couple people saw Resurrection on there and rushed straight off to write a scathing reply about how I'm a big dick and what do I care about how hard people think they climb anyway and besides watching me climb is like watching a crippled weasle with epilepsy trying to make violent love with a blender .

If there are going to be grades they might as well be accurate and somewhat consistant. Compare the difficulty of Ressurection (probably 20 sends by now and almost always peoples first v10) with something like Surgeon general or Young One and try and pretend the effort necessary to send either one is the same. Its a farce.

I'm sure i could have been more diplomatic but it was 4 in the morning, I was taking a break in the lab and I was just full of piss and vinegar. Besides I like getting people all pissed off on the internet especially when they are sequestered halfway across the country and can't beat my skinny ass up (and everyone I've talked to around here agrees that the grades of those climbs on the list that they've done is soft).

The thing that gets me is that whenever someone complains about grades being soft in an area a whiny chorus winds up "Stop being so meannnn, climbings not about gradessss, its about the experienceeeee, its allll B3333 if you can't climb it, why dooo you careee."

Well if its not about grades for you then thats fine doesn't bother me at all, hell your a better (certainly less bitter) person than I am. But could you frig back off into your enlightened world with Chris S., Gandi, and the Leprechauns where all that matters is your next bong rip and Guiness gushes unbidden from the springs and let assholes like me who actually care about consistant grading have a few snide cracks at the classic weaksauce gimme problems. A bunch of grades in NS are super soft and a bunch are harder than a priest at a playground (whoops!) and a couple are okay and the only way to get an actual idea about which are which (rather than just taking zigs word on it) is to get people all pissed off about it on climbeasterncanada. So if you're cranky that I think resurrection is soft as hell give me an example of anyone who has climbed another v10 in halifax (that's legitamatly hard) and failed on resurrection and I'll buy you a beer.

[ben smith]

Also:
Chossmonkey you're a dork, have fun censoring this you hamfisted, impotent, festering chancre.

Trad Reborn: Get a life. Seriously. Why do you care about bouldering grades in NS. Do you boulder? Do you live in NS? In a Venn Diagram of people who should care about this subject you are a furiously spasming speck on the side of the page hoping to get a couple kicks in while everyone else piles on. And still the best you can do is echo someone elses line (which in turn is a faint echo of... H'mm let me try and recall... Oh yes I have it, that was me calling you a MOUTH BREATHING RETARD for giving a crap about climbing ethics in another province whilst simultaneously ripping on Chossmonkey in the New Brunswick forum for doing the exact same goddamned thing).

[chossmonkey]

Also:
Chossmonkey you're a dork, have fun censoring this you hamfisted, impotent, festering chancre.

Trad Reborn: Get a life. Seriously. Why do you care about bouldering grades in NS. Do you boulder? Do you live in NS? In a Venn Diagram of people who should care about this subject you are a furiously spasming speck on the side of the page hoping to get a couple kicks in while everyone else piles on. And still the best you can do is echo someone elses line (which in turn is a faint echo of... H'mm let me try and recall... Oh yes I have it, that was me calling you a MOUTH BREATHING RETARD for giving a crap about climbing ethics in another province whilst simultaneously ripping on Chossmonkey in the New Brunswick forum for doing the exact same goddamned thing).

Is that really the best you can do?

Your witty flaming is softer than NS bouldering grades. In real life are you too busy using bad words rather than your brain? I could see how grade comparisons could use up a lot of free space in there. So many big numbers.

Obviously you are threatened by the soft grades. Are you worried people won't think you are as core as you think you are? If too many people can pull the soft grades and make it look like they can run with you that could be bad.

You should really consider getting a life. Climbing is far more than the grades. Then again, perhaps bouldering isn't really climbing? Maybe bouldering is all about the spray? Way to represent!

[granite_grrl]

A bunch of grades in NS are super soft and a bunch are harder than a priest at a playground (whoops!) and a couple are okay

I've got news for you Ben.....it's like that in everywhere. A smattering of soft and hard problems in an area is nothing new.

There's been some good comments in this thread. I find it very interesting, the progression of the grading in the province from breaking new ground. There really is no need for personal attacks.

[seanT]

On sale now
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Available at MEC and other fine establishments.

[Holly Reid]

watching me climb is like watching a crippled weasle with epilepsy trying to make violent love with a blender.

HAHAHAHAHA!

[patzer]

Heh.

There was an interview with John Gill posted on 8a recently... http://www.8a.nu/?IncPage=http%3A//www. ... eId%3D4046

He talks about his B-scale having "understandably expired" to replaced by the Sherman one. Also how it wasn't a personal scale (like I have always heard it described by everyone). He also suggests a par system like golf might be more useful for bouldering, as difficulty is hard to nail down:

"You may be a weird anatomical freak capable of climbing, say, The Blue Smear, while others cannot. Does that make The Blue Smear difficult? Or merely inaccessible to most climbers?"

Not that I completely agree but something to think about...

[betaburgler]

watching me climb is like watching a crippled weasle with epilepsy trying to make violent love with a blender.

Favorite Ben quote ever! I'm obviously not the only one who lost it while they tried to imagine this.

Seriously this thread brightened my day!

[Adam]

Trad Reborn: Get a life. Seriously. Why do you care about bouldering grades in NS. Do you boulder? Do you live in NS? In a Venn Diagram of people who should care about this subject you are a furiously spasming speck on the side of the page hoping to get a couple kicks in while everyone else piles on. And still the best you can do is echo someone elses line (which in turn is a faint echo of... H'mm let me try and recall... Oh yes I have it, that was me calling you a MOUTH BREATHING RETARD for giving a crap about climbing ethics in another province whilst simultaneously ripping on Chossmonkey in the New Brunswick forum for doing the exact same goddamned thing).

Ben you need to learn some communication skills. Seriously. I commented on nothing about ethics. I just seconded that mouth breathers comment heh. Seriously, go smoke a doob and chill the fuc|( out.