Climbing Terms...Huh?

2/18

It has been pointed out to us that although we fully understand everything we are writing, you folks (friends and family) back home may not know what we are talking about when it comes to climbing. We apologize for this and hopefully this will explain just exactly what we are doing:

When we rock climb we have to use lots of gear. This includes a rope, harnesses, helmets, climbing shoes and quickdraws. The rope keeps us attached to the wall so we do not fall to the ground. The harness attaches us to the rope and the helmet of course keeps our brain protected. Quickdraws are two carabiners attached together with a piece of webbing, one that attaches to a bolt (a piece of metal attached to the wall) and the other clips into the rope. 

Quickdraws and other gear

As we climb one of us heads up with the rope attached as the other feeds rope out of a device called a belay device (a device that catches the rope with friction if the climber takes a fall.). Once you have left the ground, you use your quick draws to attach the rope to the wall to keep you safe. This process is called lead climbing. At any point, the leader can fall at most twice as far as the distance to the most recently placed quickdraw. To give an example of the risk here; if a leader is ten feet above the last bolt, a fall will be a minimum of twenty feet. Realistically, the fall would likely include several more feet due to rope elasticity and slack. This is what we refer to as a “Whipper” Once to the anchors, a set of bolts with steel rings we attach into these and get lowered back to the ground. When we are both done with the route we must retrieve all of our quickdraws, a process called cleaning the route.

In rock climbing, climbers give a grade to a route that concisely describes the difficulty and danger of climb. Different areas with climbing each have their own grading system, and many different nationalities developed their own, distinctive grading systems.There are a number of factors that contribute to the difficulty of a climb including the technical difficulty of the moves, the strength and stamina required, the level of commitment, and the difficulty of the protection. At times the bolts that you clip are very spread out making the climb more committing because the falls get greater and greater with more spread. 

Guide Books

Different grading systems consider these factors in different ways, so no two grading systems are treated the same Climbing grades are inherently subjective. They may be the opinion of one or a few climbers, often the first ascent gets the rights to grade the route or the author(s) of a guidebook work together to determine the grade. A grade for an individual route may also be a consensus reached by many climbers who have climbed the route. While grades are usually applied fairly consistently across a climbing area, there are often perceived differences between routes due the nature of each climb. Because of these variables, climbers might find a route to be either easier or more difficult than expected for the grade applied

The system used in the US consists of five classes indicating the technical difficulty of the hardest section. We refer to our system as the Yosemite decimal system. Class 1 is the easiest and consists of walking on even terrain. Class 2 is walking on less even terrain with elevation change. Class 3 usually requires scrambling over boulders and rocks. Class 4 requires scrambling rocks and walking on trail with exposure and potential danger if you fall. Class 5 is climbing on vertical or near-vertical rock, and requires skill and a rope to proceed safely. In this grade un-roped falls would result in severe injury or death. This is the grade in which we are dealing with when climbing here in Southeast Asia and also when we climb back in the states. In our blog you will also see the french system being noted simply because thats what is used on this side of the world.

Global grade system chart

The original intention was that the classes would be subdivided decimally, so that a route graded 4.5 would be a scramble halfway between 4 and 5, and 5.9 would be the hardest rock climb. Increased standards and improved equipment meant that climbs graded 5.9 in the 1960s are now only of moderate difficulty. Rather than regrade all climbs each time standards improve, additional grades were added which originally only went to 5.10, but it soon became apparent  that more grades were needed as climbers became better. Further grades of 5.11and 5.12 and higher were added. While the top grade used to be 5.10, a large range of climbs in this grade were completed, and climbers realized a subdivision of the upper grades was needed. Letter grades were added for climbs at 5.10 and above by adding a letter "a" (easiest), "b", "c", or "d" (hardest).

The system considers the technical difficulty of the hardest move on a route. For example, a route may be 5.7 moves most of the way but have one 5.11b move so it would be graded 5.11b. A climb that consisted of 5.11b moves all along its route would also be 5.11b. Modern application of climbing grades, especially on climbs at the upper end of the scale (5.10 and up), also consider how sustained or strenuous a climb is, in addition to the difficulty of the single hardest move. Often times guide books describe the climbs in details so you know what to expect. It will tell you whether it has one or two hard moves know as the “Crux” or if the climb is hard the whole way.

Before this trip, Robyn and I were climbing in the 5.8- 5.10 range. A 5.10 grade would give us difficulty at times making us rest at bolts before continuing. Now that we have been climbing for two months we are both climbing much harder. I have started climbing in the 5.11-5.12a range and Robyn has become much more confident the higher 5.10 range. As we continue to write this blog we will try and further explain any climbing terms/slang we use. Thanks for reading and continue to enjoy!