what no one seems to mention is the evolution of sandstone, especially the softer stuff in the underclings. this climb will get progressively easier, but by such tiny, incremental margins that it will be hard to feel let alone measure.
Such a relief to hear Will talk openly about how the upper boulder grades are getting compressed. I wonder what Nalle would say, as the guy who decided to make v17 a thing? My impression is that he wanted some of the existing v15s to get upgraded. Some have, but maybe not enough of them? Get Nalle on the show!!!
Will bosi also said, that the 8c band might be too broad. So they have a common Point. I guess Upgrade some to 8c+ and both will BE Happy with that. Then Talk about 9a
@@twister0800 Yeah that's what I'm trying to say too. "compressed" meaning that they are narrow, compared to say v15 which is very wide. Really want to hear Nalle's reflections on this since he likely premeditated some of this grade shift debacle and has a TON of experience in the upper grades.
Does Will go back and reclimb many V15s, V16s, and V17s? If not then maybe he is still improving too quickly to make meaningful comparisons between different grades climbed at various points in time. For Daniel Woods, he has nearly plateaued at V16, so if he says ROTSW is a grade harder, I give that more weight.
Exactly... Daniel knows his shit. I'm pretty sure he's got more V16s under his belt than anyone in the world and Daniel put over a month into ROTSW and I don't think he's ever put that much time into a problem after plateauing.
What I learned about grading: Its more about what area you climb than the actuall difficulty, which kinda sucks. Traditional climbing areas are generally sandbagged. This is due to a specific style which locals might have mastered or because people didnt want someone to downgrade their first ascent or just having a lower gradingscale as nowadays. Whereas newly developed areas do have a percentage of routes that are overgraded, considered as "holydaygrades". For example in traditional crags I onsight 2-3 grades lower than in common crags(same type of rock& similar style), which is a big difference and its not due to fear. You should be aware of your strength/weakness when grading a route. Other factors might be your beta, height, etc. This makes the grading more complex and harder to judge instead of just comparing it with other grades/routes. At the same time holidaygrades feel good for the ego thus not everyone admits on an obvious downgrade. Last but not least: what max grades are you climbing? 8a climbers might have troubles to distinguish between 6b/6c. Considering invested time into difficulty can also be deceiving regarding a harder beta or not finding/using rests (kneepads)
I've found bouldering grades well into the double digits are less wonky. I think it's because most have been developed much, much recently than many of the sandbagged beginner 5.9 - 5.11 trad climbing range.
I think the problem is in an attempt to differentiate the difficulty of climbs. We went from simple numbers 7,8,9 to 8a, 8b, 8c to now pluses and minuses, 8c-,8c,8c+. and I love Will and all, but he’s saying the range from 8c+ to 9a is so varied. Well maybe people are scared to just call it what it is. An 8c+ SHOULD be a 9a, and then bump everything up a bit. The real reality is that us normal recreational climbers will likely never climb a 9a. The hardest I’ve ever climbed was a pure dumb luck 6C+ can I say it was a 7a? Or a 6C instead? no idea. I go bouldering a lot and one 6a I may try over and over and never do it while another 6a i flash. There aren’t that many 9a climbs out there anyway so Will is right that they all feel different. But to be all tied up in knots about well was it truly a 9a? This other guy said it’s 8c+…. us mortals don’t care nor know the difference.
Disagree. I can definitly differentiate 7a from 6c for example. And 7b from that. I did a lot of those already and im nearly Always in Point with my prediction without knowing the Grade before
6c to 7a, I agree 100% and i can tell the difference as well, but what I'm saying is things get a little fuzzier when your trying to differentiate 6c+ vs 7a, and there are lots of people using minus now too. Can you tell the difference between 6c+ and 7a-? I cant
@@EastCoastFlying I think anyone who claims to differentiate grades with 100% accuracy is a liar. The more difficult climbs become, the more subjective the grading gets, since hard climbs are often more limited in terms of beta options too which means if you don't fit the style then you're screwed.
being a professional, you also reach a point of difficulty where although the range feels more narrow and doesnt truly feel next level, its still a step up in some way. then again, my experience is with a videogame, so take that with a grain of salt
I guess the same could be said for v15 which he says does not feel narrow for him. What I hear him saying is that maybe these v17s should maybe just be classified as hard v16
@@williamlowry8809petition to have a v8 climber to go with all the pros on their send, touch the holds and tell us how fucked it is from the mortal’s eyes.
@@fanzhang5568 Emil abrahamsson is a V15 climber and he uploaded a video trying the replica. definitely demonstrates how crazy it is video title: "The world's hardest boulder was too hard, so we put it on a vertical wall" in the first third of the video they try it in its normal setting
i get the feeling alphane may not stand the test of time as a 9a, shame considering how sick it is. this is the nicest downgrade i’ve ever seen tho, only insinuates doesn’t actually throw any numbers out there
It's also the most repeated, and none of the climbers downgraded. My feeling is, it's slightly harder than any 8c+, but in a noticeable way. Time will tell if it's enough to grant the grade. I mean, some grades are thinner by nature, I'm a scrub but 6b is way larger than 6a+ and 6b+, and 6c+ is a small but noticeable step over 6c, while the gap to 7a to me feels super huge
@@stefanovitali2925that’s different though. At that kind of level 6a to 6b+, I don’t think there are not that much nuisance to separate that many grades. 6b are out of beginner grades the jump to 6b is noticeable. 6a/6a+ are the same grade in the V grade system - v3, 6b/6b+ are the same v4, 6c/6c+ are the same v5. Most people can do up to 6b+ just by climbing and getting better in technique. Getting to 7a, 7a+ start to need some real dedications. After that every grade is their own thing pretty much.
The impression I'm getting of the harder grades is that they're VERY dependent upon not only individual strengths, but also body type and size, as well as tweaks in beta which are unlikely to have settled out with only a few ascents. That last factor means the eventual downgrade of some cutting-edge problems is pretty likely.
This logic would apply every time the level increases though, and as V10-15 are now clearly established grades regardless of body dimensions it won’t hold. Humans are just all convinced they’ve achieved something special. I’m still in the camp of Ondra having the hardest send of all time with Terra.
The way I see it, some V16s deserve an upgrade and some V17s probably will get knocked down. The problem is all these classic 8c or 8c+ test pieces are getting done by stronger climbers with new beta. We gotta hold onto the original grade to some degree
Will keeps hinting that Adam Ondra sandbagged Terranova quite a bit. From hearing him talk about it I get the impression he thinks its definitely a v17.
@@shawnington I can understand it though, Ondra did that climb so long ago, being so young, putting up a so called 9A would take some ego and risk ridicule.
@@Jerkalthere’s footage of Ondra bouldering his home czech that has some just disgusting looking climbs on it, completely sandbagged grades on polished (almost glass) rock. I don’t think it would be out of the question to suggest that Ondra remains the strongest boulderer of the generation.
Nugget, I am sorry to break this to you but your intro song is now being used by a Swedish coffee ad on RUclips and is forever tainted by corporate sanitization. (Melitta)
Climbing will become stale abd lose its appeal when there is nothing left to put up and you can only repeat stuff that's already been done. I sometimes feel pity for the younger generations. Around where I live, it seems like every rock has already been climbed before and there is no room for a new adventure or for leaving your own mark. So in essence climbing is about optimizing your grip strength and your core strength etc. blabla. I hope Will is lucky enough to find his own proj.
@@Deathranger999 Well, you can enjoy it for sure but it will lack the freedom and adventure it once had. It will lack its expressive dimension and I wouldn't underestimate that.
The world is a big place and will never run out of boulders. I'm sure there are some gnarly boulders in Siberia. It's just whether you want to bother going there or not.
Will is brave filming with a green background
what no one seems to mention is the evolution of sandstone, especially the softer stuff in the underclings. this climb will get progressively easier, but by such tiny, incremental margins that it will be hard to feel let alone measure.
Some guys scanned it I think, so might be able to compare like that
why just getting easier not harder?
Such a relief to hear Will talk openly about how the upper boulder grades are getting compressed. I wonder what Nalle would say, as the guy who decided to make v17 a thing? My impression is that he wanted some of the existing v15s to get upgraded. Some have, but maybe not enough of them? Get Nalle on the show!!!
Nalle is way too off the grid :’D
He’s talking about the opposite of grade compression, he’s saying the grades are being inflated when perhaps they shouldn’t be
Will bosi also said, that the 8c band might be too broad.
So they have a common Point.
I guess Upgrade some to 8c+ and both will BE Happy with that.
Then Talk about 9a
@@twister0800 Yeah that's what I'm trying to say too. "compressed" meaning that they are narrow, compared to say v15 which is very wide. Really want to hear Nalle's reflections on this since he likely premeditated some of this grade shift debacle and has a TON of experience in the upper grades.
he needs to check out sisu project it looks so rad
It's totally different level any human has climbed so far.
Will, go chat with Charles Albert, maybe he could show you some of his crazy projects?
Please
Big ego climber over here!
Will should try some of Drew's V16s
He’s got sooo many 16’s, I feel like a trip to Colorado would help him fill out experience in that grade
I wonder what other climbs he did in red rocks. So many beautiful looking climbs there.
He onsighted a v12, flashed another
Also flashed a v9 though that’s not nearly as crazy for him.
I am sure Jana is psyched for Terranova as well!!
Does Will go back and reclimb many V15s, V16s, and V17s? If not then maybe he is still improving too quickly to make meaningful comparisons between different grades climbed at various points in time. For Daniel Woods, he has nearly plateaued at V16, so if he says ROTSW is a grade harder, I give that more weight.
Exactly... Daniel knows his shit. I'm pretty sure he's got more V16s under his belt than anyone in the world and Daniel put over a month into ROTSW and I don't think he's ever put that much time into a problem after plateauing.
What I learned about grading: Its more about what area you climb than the actuall difficulty, which kinda sucks. Traditional climbing areas are generally sandbagged. This is due to a specific style which locals might have mastered or because people didnt want someone to downgrade their first ascent or just having a lower gradingscale as nowadays. Whereas newly developed areas do have a percentage of routes that are overgraded, considered as "holydaygrades". For example in traditional crags I onsight 2-3 grades lower than in common crags(same type of rock& similar style), which is a big difference and its not due to fear. You should be aware of your strength/weakness when grading a route. Other factors might be your beta, height, etc. This makes the grading more complex and harder to judge instead of just comparing it with other grades/routes. At the same time holidaygrades feel good for the ego thus not everyone admits on an obvious downgrade. Last but not least: what max grades are you climbing? 8a climbers might have troubles to distinguish between 6b/6c. Considering invested time into difficulty can also be deceiving regarding a harder beta or not finding/using rests (kneepads)
I've found bouldering grades well into the double digits are less wonky. I think it's because most have been developed much, much recently than many of the sandbagged beginner 5.9 - 5.11 trad climbing range.
I think the problem is in an attempt to differentiate the difficulty of climbs. We went from simple numbers 7,8,9 to 8a, 8b, 8c to now pluses and minuses, 8c-,8c,8c+. and I love Will and all, but he’s saying the range from 8c+ to 9a is so varied. Well maybe people are scared to just call it what it is. An 8c+ SHOULD be a 9a, and then bump everything up a bit. The real reality is that us normal recreational climbers will likely never climb a 9a. The hardest I’ve ever climbed was a pure dumb luck 6C+ can I say it was a 7a? Or a 6C instead? no idea. I go bouldering a lot and one 6a I may try over and over and never do it while another 6a i flash. There aren’t that many 9a climbs out there anyway so Will is right that they all feel different. But to be all tied up in knots about well was it truly a 9a? This other guy said it’s 8c+…. us mortals don’t care nor know the difference.
Disagree. I can definitly differentiate 7a from 6c for example. And 7b from that.
I did a lot of those already and im nearly Always in Point with my prediction without knowing the Grade before
On
6c to 7a, I agree 100% and i can tell the difference as well, but what I'm saying is things get a little fuzzier when your trying to differentiate 6c+ vs 7a, and there are lots of people using minus now too. Can you tell the difference between 6c+ and 7a-? I cant
@@EastCoastFlying I think anyone who claims to differentiate grades with 100% accuracy is a liar. The more difficult climbs become, the more subjective the grading gets, since hard climbs are often more limited in terms of beta options too which means if you don't fit the style then you're screwed.
Sisu project - the unclimbed Nalle's project !
Thought about this. Would be insane to see Will have a go at it
From what ive heard thats almost a theoretical boulder, would maybe be a 9b boulder
yeah would be awesome to see somebody take on that@@juliusarneberg7592
@@juliusarneberg75929B*
This boulder has always fascinated me. Almost tempted to go to Finland to look at it even though I couldn’t do a single move 😂
being a professional, you also reach a point of difficulty where although the range feels more narrow and doesnt truly feel next level, its still a step up in some way. then again, my experience is with a videogame, so take that with a grain of salt
I guess the same could be said for v15 which he says does not feel narrow for him. What I hear him saying is that maybe these v17s should maybe just be classified as hard v16
I wish I was strong enough to not feel the difference between V16 and V17 lol
I wish I was strong enough to feel it
@@williamlowry8809petition to have a v8 climber to go with all the pros on their send, touch the holds and tell us how fucked it is from the mortal’s eyes.
@@fanzhang5568 Emil abrahamsson is a V15 climber and he uploaded a video trying the replica. definitely demonstrates how crazy it is
video title: "The world's hardest boulder was too hard, so we put it on a vertical wall"
in the first third of the video they try it in its normal setting
i get the feeling alphane may not stand the test of time as a 9a, shame considering how sick it is. this is the nicest downgrade i’ve ever seen tho, only insinuates doesn’t actually throw any numbers out there
It's also the most repeated, and none of the climbers downgraded. My feeling is, it's slightly harder than any 8c+, but in a noticeable way. Time will tell if it's enough to grant the grade. I mean, some grades are thinner by nature, I'm a scrub but 6b is way larger than 6a+ and 6b+, and 6c+ is a small but noticeable step over 6c, while the gap to 7a to me feels super huge
@@stefanovitali2925that’s different though. At that kind of level 6a to 6b+, I don’t think there are not that much nuisance to separate that many grades. 6b are out of beginner grades the jump to 6b is noticeable. 6a/6a+ are the same grade in the V grade system - v3, 6b/6b+ are the same v4, 6c/6c+ are the same v5. Most people can do up to 6b+ just by climbing and getting better in technique. Getting to 7a, 7a+ start to need some real dedications. After that every grade is their own thing pretty much.
@@fanzhang5568 I definitely feel every bit of grade jump on the moonboard. Gym & outside, I agree, the variance is huge
If will downgrades something he just says. He hasnt downgraded alphane
The impression I'm getting of the harder grades is that they're VERY dependent upon not only individual strengths, but also body type and size, as well as tweaks in beta which are unlikely to have settled out with only a few ascents. That last factor means the eventual downgrade of some cutting-edge problems is pretty likely.
This logic would apply every time the level increases though, and as V10-15 are now clearly established grades regardless of body dimensions it won’t hold.
Humans are just all convinced they’ve achieved something special.
I’m still in the camp of Ondra having the hardest send of all time with Terra.
The way I see it, some V16s deserve an upgrade and some V17s probably will get knocked down. The problem is all these classic 8c or 8c+ test pieces are getting done by stronger climbers with new beta. We gotta hold onto the original grade to some degree
Will keeps hinting that Adam Ondra sandbagged Terranova quite a bit. From hearing him talk about it I get the impression he thinks its definitely a v17.
@@shawnington I can understand it though, Ondra did that climb so long ago, being so young, putting up a so called 9A would take some ego and risk ridicule.
@@Jerkalthere’s footage of Ondra bouldering his home czech that has some just disgusting looking climbs on it, completely sandbagged grades on polished (almost glass) rock.
I don’t think it would be out of the question to suggest that Ondra remains the strongest boulderer of the generation.
Tiny range of people able to comment on Font grades above 8B.
Nugget, I am sorry to break this to you but your intro song is now being used by a Swedish coffee ad on RUclips and is forever tainted by corporate sanitization. (Melitta)
Climbing will become stale abd lose its appeal when there is nothing left to put up and you can only repeat stuff that's already been done. I sometimes feel pity for the younger generations. Around where I live, it seems like every rock has already been climbed before and there is no room for a new adventure or for leaving your own mark. So in essence climbing is about optimizing your grip strength and your core strength etc. blabla. I hope Will is lucky enough to find his own proj.
IMO you don’t have to put up anything new to enjoy climbing. I’d like to think that’s a pretty common perspective.
@@Deathranger999 Well, you can enjoy it for sure but it will lack the freedom and adventure it once had. It will lack its expressive dimension and I wouldn't underestimate that.
The world is a big place and will never run out of boulders. I'm sure there are some gnarly boulders in Siberia. It's just whether you want to bother going there or not.