i was wondering around which grade the final routes of a world cup event would be given the fact that itยดs all "on sight" climbing, i reckon the routes have to be in between, letยดs say 7c and 8a or 8a+. whatยดs your opinion on the topic?
Given that the routes auf Austrian Cup Finals are somewhat around 8a+, at least they were that hard 2 years ago, I would say that finals of World cup events should be even harder
There is a reason why the three people who have onsighted 8c+ outside are all past winners of the overall lead World Cup. These guys trained very specifically to onsight routes on plastic at roughly that level, translating that to outside is mostly a matter of finding the right route once they're that strong.
In boulder WC, I believe the grades for the men's finals are in the 7C to 7C+ range. At least, that is what one route setter estimated in 2010, for the event that was held that year in the U.S. Sean McColl just estimated 7C+ to 8A. If so, that means lead WC grades are pretty close to the best anyone can flash/onsight outdoors... but boulder WC grades are far lower than the best outdoor flashes. Any thoughts on why?
I have also heard 7C to 7C+ for the male in the boulder final. I would also add that route reading is much more easy for Lead climbers compared to the often super technical boulders. Another reason is that you are not allowed to touch the holds in the competition but most guys think this is OK on rock.
@john as far as i've understood 1)WC boulder problems are set to be very technical/ackward, as route setters find that it makes for a better show and a safer ranking: with straightforward "crimp and pull" problems there would be a much higher risk that some moves are either too easy or too hard, leading to ties. That is the exact opposite logic of wc lead. To sum it up brutally, in bouldering a recurrent foot slip makes a good ranking, in lead it makes ties? 2)Competition problems are climbed with no beta, ie the first attempt is a real onsight. Outdoors, this style is seldom practiced and almost never claimed as in the context of outdoor bouldering it is more often a contrievance than not (no isolation zone, tickmarks, videos, etc etc). 3)bouldering competitions involve several problems to be climbed under specific time constraints, not just one on a lucky attempt where everything clicks perfectly. The best boulderers flash 8B's and harder outside, but do they flash/2nd go 5 of them in the same day? A wc-like outdoor feat would be to go in Fontainebleau, @cuvier rempart, and climb the "big five" (5 famous boulders between 7c and 8a) within an hour, on your first day, with no beta whatsoever. Now, this would be considered a world-class feat, and ty landman made quite a sensation when he "almost" completed it (it took him a couple of hours, with beta) a few years back... http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=54967
how difficult are world cup routes in the finals?