But where has that left women’s climbing today?

In America, 2008 was a pretty good year for women’s bouldering, in terms of difficulty.

Lisa Rands made an awesome ascent of the Mandala V12 in Bishop.

Angie Payne climbed European Human Being V12, in RMNP, Alex Johnson climbed Clear Blue Skies V11/12 at Mt. Evans, and Alex Puccio did CBS, The Marble V11 or V12, and most impressively Trice V12 on Flagstaff Mtn.
This year Puccio added The Gentleman’s Project V11, The Maze of Death V12, and several other V11s to her ticklist.
During the same two years the top men flashed several V13s (including a V14) and established problems up to V15, one of which is 25ft tall. It would be hard to argue that the gap hasn’t grown. Have women fallen behind, or is this gap appropriate? Should there be any gap?
While Ms. Hill’s ascent was not a bouldering ascent, it was a significant advancement in climbing, and in some way addresses two key issues. First, the idea that women can climb at the same level or higher in terms of pure difficulty, and secondly that women can do important and classic first ascents.
Perhaps twenty years ago the top women of today would have been climbing stronger than the strongest men. If one were to look at the total number of hours men have spent climbing, it would far out number the total number of hours that women have spent climbing (simply due to the fact that there are far more men than women in our sport) and is this the gap that is reflected? Often times when such a debate arises, the fact the men and women have different bodies is used as the reason for the difference. There seem to be climbs that favor a smaller climber, like Chablanke in Hueco Tanks and Clear Blue Skies at Mt. Evans, but those are the exception. More often than not climbs established by taller climbers will favor taller climbers, and most of the climbs established are put up by taller climbers. Perhaps The Nose just happen to fit into the exception, an excuse many men used when they failed to repeat Hill’s route. Do men have a psychological advantage simply because as a group they have more practice and have had the opportunity to push the bar farther? Should we even be comparing the differences between men and women? Perhaps it is the lack of an objective standard that blurs this line, unlike swimming, or track and field.

Angie Payne trying hard in Fontainebleau

The second issue is that of women actually going out and doing first ascents. Women have done very little development in modern bouldering, more specifically of individual problems, let alone finding and developing whole areas, as Fred Nicole and Dave Graham have. A situation where a guy steps aside so a girl can do a first ascent does nothing to push things forwardly. Women are not the ones hiking to the boulders with rope, harness and wire brush to clean and climb the newest boulders. This is one obvious niche that has yet to be filled in the growth of our sport. The argument could be made that only a small percentage of the total number of men that climb develop new problems, and if more females did climb, the number of female developers would increase. Conversely, almost no women have done any significant first ascents of classic problems at the best climbing areas. Are men acting selfish, territorial, and egotistical, and do these generalized traits lead to development? This is a complex issue but one that is rarely addressed. The intention of this post is to be honest, and to generate some discussion as to why women haven’t made more significant contributions to our sport (bouldering) as Lynn Hill demonstrated could be done with her sport (traditional climbing) almost 20 years ago. I for one would love to see them do so.

“It just strikes me that despite the overall climbing gym industry in the US probably generating 8-figure revenues, despite there being tens of thousands of active, hard core gym climbers in a key age-range/marketing demographic, despite indoor bouldering itself being ideally suited to some form of compelling competition format, and despite 10+ years of trying, gym comps themselves generate practically zero interest except among the competitors themselves, and there is really is only one professional US climber, and he doesn’t do comps. Or live in the US.
Yet instead of trying to broaden the appeal of comps, the trend is to narrow it by adopting a competition format and course-setting style that prioritizes the least skillful, least technical, most superficial aspect of it – strength. Dumbing climbing down by prioritizing basic brute power will never appeal to even the mainstream climbing community, let alone a broader audience.
The current competition format offers no hope of ever maturing into a viable competitive circuit that offers anything meaningfully renumerative to its competitors. I personally would like to see them, and the gyms also, be more successful, and for there to be more of them, and for them to appeal to a broader spectrum of the population. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get everyone on board with this? And shouldn’t the first step be to ditch what obviously isn’t working? Change it so the strongest person isn’t unfairly advantaged, and doesn’t always win. So it’s not just a strength contest. Or, keep on with this mindset that says the strongest climber is the best climber, and format and course-set the comps to reflect that, and see where that gets you.

I would love to hear what everyone thinks! Is competition climbing stagnating? growing? What can be done to make it grow? or has it reached a maximum given the size of the industry? If there are competitors, spectators, setters or anyone interested in the topic I would love to hear your constructive feedback.

Women’s Finals photo courtesy Caroline Treadway

Firstly, Gill introduced dynamic movement.

In the Tetons in 1959, he did the first ascent of the center of the Red Cross Rock. This was an execptionally difficult, short problem and the first significant “dynamic route” in America-if anywhere. Normally climbs were done in a “static” fashion, whereby each move was deliberate and often reversible. Gill was willing to commit himself to physical flight upward, commiting himself in aerial feats where he threw his body free of the rock and upward off a hold.
Pat Ament “Master of Rock” 1992

He also introduced specific training for climbing, particularly in preparation for The Thimble, in South Dakota.

….(he) started to devise ways, around the gym, in which to train for some of the moves he anticipated doing on the Thimble. He squeezed nuts and bolts sticking out of the gym walls to prepare for the nubbins that he would have to squeeze high up on the Thimble. He could do seven regular one-arm pullups, three finger-tip one-arm pullups, and of course his one-finger/one-arm pullup, and he continued to train at these
Pat Ament “Master of Rock” 1992

This is a standard that is matched by almost no climber today. Consistantly, it seems that everyone who saw Gill climb was throughly impressed. He also introduced the use of chalk, for drying the hands, a technique he borrowed from his background in gymnastics.

Another one of the contributions he made was by creating a personal grading scale. The scale consisted of B1, B2, and B3. A B1 problem was one that had moves as hard as the hardest roped climbs of the day. Perhaps the modern translation would be V12 to V13. A B2 problem was one that was harder than the hardest roped climbs of the day, perhaps V14-V15 nowadays. A B3 problem was tried relentlessly, and only climbed once. As soon as it was repeated it dropped back down to B2. Gill’s scale was a sliding scale. In 1969 the scale was defined as such: B1=5.10, in 1977 B1=5.11, and in 1987 B1=5.12. Although the scale is not used anymore, I think there is still some application, and Gill was on to a good idea. The hardest problems aren’t the ones with the largest numbers, but the ones that are seldom repeated. Many people argue that modern problems like Freshly Squeezed and Dark Waters should be given V13, and maybe they should, but if they are then they are some of the most repeated V13s in America. Spinal Twist (in Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT), or Suspension of Disbelief (given V13 by FAist David Graham) are rarely repeated and in fact Suspension has only been repeated once, after a massive effort by Daniel Woods. Clearly these problems are harder than Freshly Squeezed or Dark Waters, whether the numbers indicate that difficulty or not. It is also interesting that the B scale would slide across regions, in that a B3 in Ohio, would probably, but not necessarily, be easier than a B3 in Colorado.

I am trying to compile a list of all of the potentially difficult B3 boulders in America. Clearly something that was done recently (maybe in the last year or so still needs some time). Maybe some of these B3s haven’t been climbed because they are out of the way, or have bad landings, or are actually really, really, difficult.

One of the best examples of such a problem is Dave Graham’s The Story of Two Worlds V15, in Cresciano, CH. Many climbers have done Dreamtime V14, which is on the same boulder. (or Jade V15 for that matter, which has 5 ascents in 3 years). But back to The Story of Two Worlds, a few have repeated the stand start, The Dagger, but in four years no one has been able to repeat Dave’s lower start. One strong climber claimed it was “dabby” and that’s fine, but the longer it goes unrepeated, and the more strong climbers go there and don’t do it, for whatever reason, the more legendary it grows in status. In America that would be a problem like Suspension of Disbelief, in Eldorado Canyon, CO (which I was lucky enough to witness the FA).

So far here is the list. I realize that some information maybe incorrect and I will happily change things as reputable information comes to light. I am looking for input from a knowledgeable community. I have added the suggested grade by the first ascentionist.

The Ill Saint, Pawtuckaway State Park FA David Graham 2000 (V13)
King of Town, Black Hills South Dakota FA Matt Tschol 2007 (V12)
Warpath, Castle Rocks, ID FA Jamie Litz 2007 (V14)
Nuclear War, Master Bedroom, NY Matt Bosley (V14?)
Nuclear Arms, Grandmother Mtn, NC FA James Litz year unknown, grade unknown
Black Crack, Blowing Rock, NC FA James Litz
Flagyl Left, Blowing Rock, NC FA James Litz
Illusion, HP40, AL FA Lee Payne 2003 (V11)
Genetic HP40, AL FA James Litz 1998? (V10)
The Keymaker, Devil’s Lake, WI FA Brian Sandona 2003? (V11) update: repeated by Nic Oklubija
The Amateur, Sawmill Creek Dome, Jim Merli 2003? (V13?)
The Hand, Hueco Tanks, TX FA Daniel Woods (V11)
Lost in the Hood, AR, FA David Graham (V14)
The Stretcher, Flagstaff, CO Jim Holloway
Fingerhut Direct, Joe’s Valley, UT James Litz (V13) update: repeated by Paul Robinson
Copperhead Right, Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT Garth Miller (V13) (although much skepticism remains about whether Miller actually climbed this line)
The Elitist, Tum Tum, WA FA Johnny Goicoechea 2007 (V13)
Zazen, Squamish, BC FA Harry Robertson 2003 (V13)
The Tale of Two Gabors, Hueco Tanks, TX FA Gabor Szekely (V12) Tried by Woods, Graham and Nicole.
Ambrosia, Bishop, CA FAKevin Jorgeson Although this was climbed with out a rope, it clearly blurs the line between bouldering and free-soloing.
The Singularity, Squamish, BC FA Tim Clifford 2007 (V14) although not in America

I left Meathook at Horsetooth Reservoir off the list, as it was repeated by Dave Twinam, with a different sequence than Jim Holloway. Slapshot, the other classic Holloway problem has broken and was re-glued and is unclimbable in its current state.

For more on Gill and he legacy, I highly recommend reading John Gill:Master of Rock, by Pat Ament, which documents Gill’s exploits.

Most guidebooks use some kind of rating system to tell the climber how good the climb is, however, the idea behind “The Star System” was that it would be like the V-scale. It was not specific to the area and it could be applied to any boulder problem, anywhere. Their original justification was to explain to someone like Fred Nicole just how good this Project was (potentially five out of five stars) so he would come and try it. Two years ago, Tim Clifford made the first ascent of this gorgeous problem calling it The Singularity. Ironically, Clifford started in a less obvious position, with only one hand on the lowest jug. Regardless, the system was born.

The Singularity, the problem that started it all.
Photo by Mike Chapman

This is roughly the same system that Wilder describes in his Hueco Tanks Bouldering Guidebook, however, Brian and I have come to understand a slightly different scale.

The idea was that the system should be rigorous and that most problems would probably get one or no stars, with a maximum of four stars. There would only be maybe a hundred or so problems in the US that would get four stars. We have also come to the consensus that a five star problem is theoretical. With entire continents virtually unexplored, it seems we have only seen a fraction of what is out there. The style of the problem is generally irrelevant. In addition to the above mentioned criteria, chipping or gluing would detract instantly. Traverses or problems that have a traversing nature would be given less stars. History could potentially add to the star rating, but lack of history would never detract. Difficulty is completely irrelevant to the System.

Often people don’t like to hear that their project or proudest send is only one star, but that’s not to say its not worth climbing on one star problems. I have had some amazing fun climbing no hands slabs in my tennis shoes, ugly moderate warmups on horrible chossy rock, or working the hard moves on a lowball V11. The Star System was not created to measure fun. There is also consensus (among Brian and I) that climbing movement is climbing movement and that it is too subjective to say that one move is “better” than another. This being said, I realize that the entire system is subjective, however, it is only an attempt to bring things closer to objectivity and so things farther away from that are discarded. It also leaves much room for debate, and what climber would complain about that!

Here are several examples to show how The Star System works. No More Greener Grasses is generally considered by most climbers to be one of the best boulder problems at Mt. Evans, if not in Colorado. When applying The Star System, it meets many of the criteria. It has a very obvious start, the line is pure and uncontrived. The rock is good, not incredible, but good. The setting is very nice, on the Dali Boulder, at the base of a 500ft cliff in the mountains. The landing is not the best but it is manageable, and this is what takes away a star. I would give this problem 4 stars.

No More Greener Grasses, Mt. Evans

Another problem that gets a lot of attention in Colorado would be the Centuar in RMNP. The Centaur is a line of crimps up the left side of the Gang Bang boulder. The start to this problem is less obvious, and the uncontrived line from the start is Handicapps V9. It has broken several times (which would indicate poor rock quality), it has a high potential for a dab (very low to the ground), the landing is poor in several places. It is sharp, and the line itself is ambiguous (especially at the end, when a specific set of holds must be followed) It also has a traversing nature. While I have projected and sent this climb, and thoroughly enjoyed it, and am psyched to have done it, I would give it zero stars.

The Centuar, RMNP

One final example I would give would be Kahuna Roof, a very popular problem at Carter Lake. While it does have one very nice hold (the sloper) on it, the rock quality is pebbly and poor. The starting hold is fairly obvious, although it is ambiguous as to whether or not a jump start is considered legitimate. At least one hold has broken on the problem that I am aware of. It has a perfectly flat landing, which was manufactured. I would give this problem 2 stars. Again, its a great problem, and one I have climbed several times, however in the grand scheme of things 2 stars is appropriate.

Perhaps no one has climbed Kahuna Roof more than Matty O!

Brian and I both travel and it is awesome that I can ask him about problems he has seen and I haven’t, and vice versa. Not unlike the V-scale, if he tells me a problem is 3 or 4 stars, I know that means he is talking about a really amazing problem. As long as every one has a general understanding of how things are graded, the problems seem to fall into place. Unlike the V-scale, it seems people are far less attached to their ego’s and will freely give their opinions and debate quality.

When giving out stars I tend to lean towards being conservative as a general rule. This is not my scale, just a great way to discuss the quality of the boulders we all love. I would encourage people to discuss and question what they think is good and why. Hopefully, The Star System will give those conversations some direction.
Here are some potential 4 star problems in Colorado:
No More Greener Grasses
The Nothing
Whispers of Wisdom
The Ladder

I am not planning any major trips, just short jaunts here and there. First up, I will be headed back to Hueco to try and finish Nagual. The longer I climb, I find myself still interested in improvement, but more interested in trying to repeat specific problems that are of the highest quality. Nagual seems very doable, however, other objectives seem farther away.

Nagual, East Spur

It is also interesting to me personally to try to climb at a certain level on every style I can. Black Lung has long been on my lifetime list. It is a beautiful piece of rock that for me is very difficult, very slopey. It climbs a medium (Joe’s sandstone) that I have not excelled on. I have tried Black Lung at least 5 days and have felt shut down.

Black Lung, a classic 8B on perfect Utah sandstone.

I am also thinking about a possible trip to Yosemite to try Midnight Lightening, the Yabo Roof, and most importantly, The Dominator. I tried The Dominator 4 years ago and had some good success and have often thought about going back. I also tried the Yabo Roof on that trip when Tommy Caldwell took me there- it was still a project at the time. Midnight Lightening I have yet to try, but would love to do it, as it is one of the most, if not the most, classic boulders in America.

The Dominator V12, Camp 4

I was very psyched on the Shield V12 when I was in Tennessee this winter and to be honest it totally shut me down. I am not sure when I’ll have the chance to go back.

Here in Colorado there isn’t a whole lot I have put a lot of effort into and haven’t done. That’s not to say there aren’t hard problems for me to go do. Freshly Squeezed, Jade, Ode to the Modern Man will all be great summertime projects, and I have put a few days in on all three. This winter I am most interested in Suspension of Disbelief, which, based on the number of repeats, is the hardest problem in Colorado. I was lucky enough to see Dave do the FA.

Suspension of Disbelief, the day Dave Graham made the FA photo Steve Woods

Jade would be the ultimate goal, but I haven’t done THE move and it seems a little beyond me. It takes a lot of sacrifice to put more than 10 or 15 days in on a problem, and with my busy work schedule over the past two summers, that just wasn’t practical. (I tried Nuthin But Sunshine about 90 days before I climbed that problem) Having the motivation to keep going back in light of repeated failure is a difficult thing and I am not surprised that climbers like Paul Robinson and Daniel Woods haven’t spent more time trying to do something really hard. Lately, I have found it a lot more enjoyable to climb on things I can do in 1-3 days. I climb a lot more problems, motivation stays high and it’s simply a lot more fun. For any climber to truly reach their limit, a massive effort is necessary and this now seems to be the real challenge.

Thanks, Dad, for reminding me that bouldering is really about what you haven’t done, and not what you have.

As the year winds down I thought it would be appropriate to summarize what happened here in Colorado. Here are some of the notable ascents.

As many strong climbers were out of the country in the first part of the year, there wasn’t a whole lot of news to report. The first ever Bouldering World Cup came to Vail in June and with it many of the strongest Europeans. Things got back back into action as the alpine areas melted out. Perhaps the most impressive ascent in Colorado this year came early on when Nalle Hukkataival, a Finnish climber in town for the competition, made the first flash ascent of No More Greener Grasses V12.

No More Greener Grasses V12

This is the hardest flash in Colorado to date. Jon Cardwell also made a very impressive one day ascent of Ode to the Modern Man V14. Nalle also made a quick ascent of Ode.

Several new problems were installed in the Park, including Sinister Secret V10, The Hobbit V12, Parchaudge V6 and The Ecstatic Truth V9.

The Hobbit V12 FA

The most notable new boulders from this year are Andre DeFelice’s Pterodactyle V12, a swooping line of sloping edges to a very nice arete finish, Daniel Wood’s steep compression roof Blood Money V12 and Chris Schulte’s Storm Shadow V12 at Emerald Lake.

Pterodactyle V12

Daniel Woods FA Blood Money V12 Upper Chaos

The best new boulder to be put up is Ty Landman’s hard V13 Top Notch. This classic problem found smack dab in the middle of Chaos Canyon climbs a singular line of flat edges out a 45 degree wall. The first move is a brutal one, and so far, Daniel Woods, who quickly got the second ascent, is the only other climber to have done it. It should be noted that Phil Schaal had an outstanding year this year, climbing No More Greener Grass V12, The Automater V13, Freaks of the Industry V13, Freshly Squeezed V12/13 and Don’t Get too Greedy V13 and many others.

The strong but quiet Phil Schaal

But enough about the men.

It was truly a breakout year for women in Colorado this year. In the spring, Flannery Shay-Nemirow climbed Center Route V10 at Morrison. This was just a warmup, however, for what was to come. Angie Payne climbed, after three years of work, one of the hardest V12s in Colorado, European Human Being in Chaos Canyon.

Angie Payne attempts Clear Blue Skies, a problem both Alex Johnson and Alex Puccio sent this year.

Alex Johnson made a very impressive one day ascent of Clear Blue Skies V12 at Mt. Evans. She also climbed several other hard problems quickly including Sunspot V11 in a day. However, it was Alex Puccio who really had the year. Not only did she climb Clear Blue Skies, but added The Marble Sit Start V11/12 and most impressively Trice V12, on Flagstaff Mountain above Boulder. She also quickly dispatched the Maze of Death V12 in Bishop.
Well Done Ladies!

3 hours and over 7 miles from the trailhead

What does the future hold? It’s hard to say. Perhaps people will start hiking or driving farther, or perhaps this is just a natural lull in climbing activity after the flurry of the last 8 years. Perhaps we will see the first American woman to climb V13. In uncertain times, it takes someone with true vision to open everyone’s eyes to the possiblities still waiting. W3rd.

Obviously, it is impossible to tack on a specific value to something that is so subjective. Conditions, body type, personal strengths and weaknesses, style, hold polish, beta, whether or not you are wearing Five Tens etc, can all factor in. Generally I find it easiest to compare problems (Nuthin but Sunshine was harder for me than Slashface, which was harder than Dark Waters) as opposed to having to apply a specific grade. All of this speculation and opinion would die out with the campfire, however websites like www.8a.nu change things when they force climbers to choose one grade or the other. More often than not this seems to lead to uprating. When there is no incentive to take a lower grade it’s not surprising that so many climbers take high grades.
Having traveled to many areas of the country I am surprised to find grades are fairly consistant. There is a range however and often times newer areas have the most overgraded problems. From my experiance, generally, New England has the “softest” grades followed by Hueco Tanks. Colorado seems to be somewhere in the middle, depending on who you talk to. Yosemite, Little Cottonwood and Fontainebleau have the most stout grades. There is alot of talk about how stiff things are in the South, but I find grades there to be fairly normal, albeit conditions dependant. Traveling certainly affects one’s opinions as well. If I live in the Colorado and travel to a new area, for example, I, and many other climbers will often seek out the things they can do quickly to ensure a successful trip. However, I think it’s important to recognize that we generally do this, and so when we have quick success on things that fit us very well, it should come as no surprise. Often this success is used as a tool to make the area one is traveling to seem softer than ones home area. On a longer trip, however, things seem to even out. I once spent 2 months in Hueco Tanks and climbed 13 or 14 v9s. The first few that I did were on the easier end of the spectrum, and I did them quickly or flashed them (PFOS, Frogger, Paleozioc, This is Your Brain on Drugs). At this point most climbers would go home with the opinion that Hueco was soft. However, once I got through those, there were several that were much harder (Try Harder, Brittany in a Blender, French Tickler) including some I didn’t do. When I think about grades in Hueco, all of the V9s come into play and just like anywhere, there are easy ones and challenging ones. The average of all of these problems ends up being about how hard I feel V9 should be and it seems to make sense. I think it is necessary to have a range of difficulty within each grade.
Hueco is an interesting place because it is one of the few places that has problems that are considered standards. Full Service is the classic example at V10. It is interesting that John Sherman (who invented the V-system) chose this problem, which is an extremely unique example to be a standard. (I believe his Hueco Guide Book has the full list of standards for each grade, including several problems he never climbed.)
As I recall, here are the standards for the upper grades that Sherman gives.

V10
Full Service (aka Serves you Right), Hueco Tanks
Left Martini, Hueco Tanks
V11
Full Monty, Hueco Tanks (before it broke)
AHR, Flagstaff Mountain (which had only been climbed once at the time)
V12
Shaken not Stirred, Hueco Tanks
Slapshot, Flatirons (which had only been climbed once and has since broken)
V13
Crown of Aragorn, Hueco Tanks (which had only been climbed once)

I haven’t climbed Shaken not Stirred (aka R. Martini) or L. Martini. Slapshot has broken, was glued, has changed significantly and is probably not climbable.

In terms of a line, moves, and history, Full Service is second to none and has received plenty of attention. It’s popularity has left it slick and polished and it would be hard to argue that it is in a similar condition now than when it was first climbed. It would be nearly impossible to quantify how much harder this has made the problem.
Another issue that arises in terms of grades, and one that is often influenced by 8A, in my opinion, is that first ascents are almost always downrated. It seems that new beta is always found, the first ascentionist wants it to be harder than it is, and more attention to the new problem leads to more brushing (not chipping) and holds become more friendly to grab. Before 8A existed, the first ascentionist would simply make a suggestion, and I think that still goes on, but for many that suggestion now becomes set in stone because it exists in a printed forum for all to see.
I think a better system than the one that currently exists on 8A would be that if you climb a problem, you would have a chance to register the problem at the very specific grade you felt it was for you. For example, I would register Dark Waters as V12.5 as I find it to be right in the middle of V12. Everyone else registers what they think, all of the opinions are averaged and you are assigned a grade based on the consensus. If you climb a problem, then one of the privileges you are afforded is the chance to submit your opinion to the consensus. Each person’s opinion is equal.
Anyways, I just wanted to bring up some points, find out what other people think, and open a discussion on the matter. Although many climbers claim to not care, it’s quite obvious that most climbers are at least interested, if not obsessed, with the topic of grades. Thoughts?

Freak of Nature V14, Freaky Boulder