Jade Sees 3rd Ascent

Posted on 24. Aug, 2007 by B3 in News

Paul Robinson has made the third ascent of Jade V15 in RMNP. His ascent comes only a few weeks after Ty’s and a month or so after Daniel Woods. Paul sent the problem in 6 days, which is the same amount of time it took Ty. I predicted last week that Jade may have five ascents by the end of the year and get the downrate. Looks like things are headed that way with possibly Dave Graham, James Litz and Tony Lamiche still to try it. Either way, this problem is very hard and a fine effort on Paul’s part. It may be a while before another local does it.

Update: The only unrepeated problem harder than V13 in Colorado is Wade David’s Dark Crystal at Swissco.

18 Responses to “Jade Sees 3rd Ascent”

Andy

24. Aug, 2007

Jamie, i have a totally random curiousity. Celebrity Death Match: Patrick Ewing vs. Fred Nicole. Thoughts?
wade david

24. Aug, 2007

I am going to try Jade, maybe another Local? I feel that I can do it, if I focas on it.
thevealchop

24. Aug, 2007

Me too.
andy

25. Aug, 2007

what about holloway problems?
jamie

25. Aug, 2007

Slapshot doesn’t exist anymore, Meathook is probably V11 and AHR is no harder than V12, if that.
bob johns

25. Aug, 2007

Who cares… not that Paul sent, but rather if its v15 or v14. i think what you seem to continuously fail to realize is that grades lay on a continuum. its just standard, basic statistics. dont know the std div or what not, would take alot of research. but essentially with such a small sample size no grade can be given with any true certainty , esp once future opinions are biassed by the previous.

to dumb down the above: “v15″ should, fell like “v14″ or “v16″ to a large percentage of the people who climb it. a mile is a mile and a minute is a minute but a v14 is not a v14 (no two are very relatable at all)
jamie

25. Aug, 2007

One of the reasons I am interested in trying to get the most accurate representation of difficulty is because then you can track personal improvement. I fully understand that grades are subjective and that it is not relateable to standard measures like the mile. What it really comes down to is that I just enjoy talking about this stuff. There will never be a way to standardize difficulty in outdoor climbing. The reason I typically write the grade after the name of a boulder is to give as much information as possible. It is not my intention to say that I am right about anything, but only to submit my opinion to the consensus. It is a way for me to let my mind wander. Grades are the perfect topic, because there is no solution.
Linus

26. Aug, 2007

Maybe Chris Sharma was right all along, and we don’t need grades at all!
Jordo

26. Aug, 2007

Yea, we do need grades, even if it is only at a personal level, because it allows us to better understand what we are capable of and if a problem is even possible for our ability level. Knowing grades is also a great way to set goals for yourself. In my opinion, the practice of grading a problem is very positive for the climbing community.
andy

28. Aug, 2007

right on… I remembered reading in Colorado bouldering how one local thought the grades of the big three were V12 or harder…but that was just one opinion
jamie

28. Aug, 2007

Colorado Bouldering is full of misinformation
chuffer

29. Aug, 2007

Jamie – Nice discussion.

I understand your position on grades and I agree that people providing their subjective opinion about the difficulty of a problem is a good thing. Most of us do it in some way, whether it’s amongst our friends, on our blogs, scorecards or websites, or maybe just in our own little heads.

Grading systems allow us to have an idea what we are getting into before we get into it, gauge our progress (and for some of us our decline – ha!). They also sell magazines, movies, guidebooks, etc. and help companies market their products through their sponsored athletes. From their very inception, grading scales have been subjective and – if we remember that – there is very little to get wound up about.

That said, IMHO, providing an opinion about the grade of a problem that has gone decades without a repeat seems inappropriate. Putting Slapshot and Meathook aside for this discussion (for different reasons), I realize full well that you spent a little time late last fall (before the snow flew) on Trice. However, pronouncing this 3-move problem that has been tried by so many (even if only very briefly) “no harder than V12, if that” seems to call into question the entire double digit grading scale regardless how subjective it is, ALL RESPECT INTENDED.

Virtually all of Colorado’s hard problems have been done by somebody within a couple hours worth of tries, right? Ty did Sunshine in a couple hours. Ethan did Circadian within an hour. Hell, Jorgeson almost did Ode 1st try from the start.

To my knowledge, no one has even repeated the crux move on Trice. For this reason, I believe it best if we left the grade of 30-year old unrepeated problems (regardless of their quality or lack thereof) open to grading in the future when someone finds the time/inspiration/motivation to commit to repeating them. History may prove you that you are right about the grade of Trice and I’m fine with that, but it seems to me that we should leave the grading of problems to those that get ascents, particularly when the problem does not involve linkups or endurance issues.

Maybe if DG would have truly set his mind to finishing Trice a few years ago when he briefly tried it, I wouldn’t have needed to type this, but he didn’t, so I did. Hopefully, one of the young and very strongmos will give it a hard look late this fall or winter and, if they manage to send, voice their opinion. People have been saying that for 30 years.

If you head up there this winter JE, let me know. I’d love to tag along for moral support and to snap photos of the 2nd ascent.

w3rd
jamie

29. Aug, 2007

Your right, it was a little out of line for me to suggest a grade for something I haven’t done. I have heard that Dave Twinam did the move, and while he was strong, was probably not climbing V13. Brian Capps has been very close and his suggestion was V11. In the end, someone really needs to go and climb it. I agree wholeheartedly. Thanks for your input!
chuffer

29. Aug, 2007

I thought Capps suggested that grade for AKR (FA: Jim Karn and repeated by Ben Moon in the 1990s), not Trice/AHR. I remember that being the one he popped his finger on. The photos I saw of Capps were on AKR, not Trice, but again, this highlights the contrived nature of the problem. I still feel like it is a problem worth trying to repeat.
jamie

30. Aug, 2007

Capps was trying AKR in the picture, but earlier that day we tried AHR. Brian, as I recall, referred to AKR as V9 and AHR as V11. Those photos were taken in June as well. it was very hot and humid that day.
Eliot

30. Aug, 2007

all your 30 yr projects are belong to cardboard_dog.
chuffer

01. Sep, 2007

all your cardboard dog are choss.
cardboard_dog

07. Sep, 2007

I try to have respect for my elders, so I’m not going to say anything ..