A climb has to be graded for the style in which it is intended to be climbed. If that's ground up, placing gear then placing the gear has to be incorporated into the climbing grade. Many, if not most, trad climbs the crux is not the technical difficulty of the moves but the combined difficulty of hanging around, placing gear then climbing.
A good example of this is Intermission (25), 40m. There would not be a single move on the climb over 23. Linking all the moves and climbing 40m probably makes it worth 24. Hanging around on sloping horizontals, pulling up to inspect placements and placing gear is what gives it 25. |