24 November 2015

Videos and TCG explanation boulder grade deflation

During the last ten years we have moved from boulder grade inflation to deflation. Based on the original grades, the boulder community has in fact not improved a lot since the beginning of the -00 decade. The best possible way to explain this could be videos in which climbers help the boulderers to select and make fast ascents. To make The story of 2 (grading) Worlds, Dave Graham's classic test piece from 2005 which stopped the grade inflation, is much easier today due to videos. Some actually thought it was an 8C+ at that time but today it is considered a soft 8C. Climbers normally use Time Comparison as a grading indication and thus it is logical that videos have created the boulder grade deflation, especially for complicated boulders. When there are just three straight forward crimps with only one sequence, a video does not have much impact of the number of sessions. Subjective grading and the Time Comparison Grading must always be based on the best sequence. Today, better sequences have been found on The Story of 2 Worlds, which logically explains why it feels easier today. On the other hand, just because you need much less time to repeat a complicated boulder thank to a video, should not effect the grade. If it took you four sessions, including finding the best sequence, to do an 8B some ten years ago and now you just need two sessions, including checking beta videos, it does not mean that the it should be downgraded. Videos and Time Comparison Grading might be the best way to explain boulder grade deflation.
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