Half grades (8a/8a+) are unnecessary

The difficulty of climbs is normally graded based on 25 steps from 3 – 9b+. The grades are subjective measurements of how difficult it is for the community to climb routes and boulders. The difficulty varies within a certain grade, i.e. some 8a’s could be considered as either soft or hard but this is not really important. However, in some areas like in Spain and in Bouldering there is a tendency to always use half grades (7c+/8a or 8a/8a+) instead of saying an 8a is soft or hard, i.e. doubling the grading steps. In some cases this has been taken even further by measuring and dividing difficulty for a climb by saying that a 7c+/8a is easier than an 8a/7c+! We can understand that sometimes it can be very hard for a first ascender to propose a precise grade and that they would feel more comfortable to say it is either 8a or 8a+. Than it is up to the community decide which grade is most accurate. A climb that has two grades is just a provisory suggestion and it should not been turned into a confirmed half grade. This will only make our grading system too complicated. We, the community, should strive to only use one grade! If you are to register a climb that you have heard has a half grade, chose the most likely and write soft or hard and you will help the climbing community to faster find the most appropriate grade. And don’t forget – Climbing is real, points are just for fun! What do you think?