Action Directe is harder than most 9a also due to knee pads

Escalade9 list 507 climbers that have done 841 routes 8c+/9a or harder. Originally, only 9a's were listed but later, due to many of the most popular were subject of being down graded also 8c+/9a were included.

39 ascents Era Vella 8c+/9a
39 ascents Estado Critico 8c+/9a
30 ascents Underground 8c+/9a

Out of the 18 most repeated ones, eleven are now being subject of being downgraded. It should be mentioned that La Rambla is included twice. First as Alex Huber's FA from 1994 originally given 8c+ but now 9a due to grade inflation. Secondly as the Ramonet's 9a+ extension. Action Direct, the probably most famous 9a route in the world, although put up as 8c+/9a by Wolfgang Güllich in 1991, has 27 ascents listed. However, during the last 3.5 years, it has only been repeated three or four times at the same time as other listed routes have been repeated multiple times only in 2020. Furthermore, almost everyone doing AD have done it after many months or even years of projecting at the same time many other "9a's" have been done after just a few sessions. In other word's, it seems like Action Direct is harder to repeat than most other 9a's which once again confirms the grade inflation. The big dilemma now, as has been mentioned here on 8a before, is how to deal with this, also from the media position? The two only options are either to upgrade AD or to downgrade many more 9a's if we want the grading system should, in a more correct way, reflect the 9a difficulty.

In practice, the number one reason for the current grade inflation, could be said to be driven by knee pads. I guess, many former 9a's are actually not that hard once you can find good resting positions or find new easier beta with due to a knee pad taking most of the load. Ïn the picture, "The Down Grader".