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Testpieces at the grade


phil_nev

18-Jun-2003
6:11:02 PM

Watch it monty.... My drills bigger than yours :)


nmonteith

18-Jun-2003
6:25:48 PM

What drill? I know nothing.... honestly officer....

(removed)

18-Jun-2003
9:36:23 PM

Okay, so Phil can have his T-shirt, this is what I've come up with so far from all of you:

12	Bard (pitches 3 and 4)	pitches 3-4 combined still form the best 12 going around
13	Muldoon	no arguments appeared for this one
14	Lamplighter (pitch 2)	my second ever lead has a soft spot for me
15	Debutante (Rosea)	dunno, haven't done it, but it sounds good anyway
16	Brolga	classic trad slab. Both pitches the same grade
17	Missing Link	Controversial because of the gear, but I still reckon it's safe if led well
18	Eurydice	sorry, no way is this a soft touch
19	The Desired	A long time favourite of mine (although I always called it "Tony's Route") and as a bonus 18 and 19 are right next to each other
20	Blimp	Just like Little Thor only better
21	Comic Relief	Everyone should do this climb
22	Sandinista	Hey, if I can onsight it, it can't be 23 ...
23	Birdman of Alcaltraz	Definition of testpiece
24	Dreadnought	Wins by default. World Party pitch 3 and Common Knowledge pitch 2 honourabl mentions. Still not happy here.
25	Have A Good Flight	May not be the best 25 route at Araps, but it IS good, and everyone who can climb it has done it - and it's certainly neither 24 nor 26. Too many honourable mentions to specify. This is a classic grade.
26	The Fortress	just 'cos I've done it (along with everyone else) and 'cos it's definitely 26
27	Angular Perspective Pitch 1	can't believe I forgot this first time around
28	Monkey Puzzle	The line of the cliff. A close call with India, Slinkin' and Cobwebs getting serious consideration.
29	Serpentine	The best line on the best cliff going around. Looks like great rock and great climbing. At the top of my hit list.
30	dunno	Daniel Or-Tiger perhaps ??
31	The Lord Of The Rings	direct required to bump it up to 31.
32	dunno	Mebbe Who's a Naughty Boy ? Quite a few have done it ...


alrob

18-Jun-2003
10:26:07 PM

wats Demon Flower graded these day? 31 or 32?
How bout HB's Journey Through Nicaragua 30
Etheopia - 30
Nathans The Cripple Nipple, considered in Rock as being a 'tespiece' @ 31
Nicotine 32

ok ok, i'm just name/grade dropping now lol


phil_nev

19-Jun-2003
12:19:44 AM

Id buy a tshirt with that list... mike hasnt said nething though, so maybe hes not interested.....

Nice work andrew.


Mike

19-Jun-2003
8:59:19 AM

T-Shirts.... wouldn't know how to go about it or what the costs might be. We'd need a graphic artist, or something. I think Qrank have a T-Shirt though, so there's a precedent. But these things cost money.


shiltz

19-Jun-2003
10:51:51 AM

Trident is pretty good at grade 14.
Navarre and Heretic are both excellent at grade 17
Diane and 20th Century Black Feral Cat get my votes for grade 18
Can't go past Tannin for grade 19
20th Century Fox could be considered along with Blimp at grade 20
I like the nomination for Comic Relief at grade 21
I've got a soft spot for Two Tribes at grade 24 (I know,,,its a sport route)

Maybe one of the Chockstoners has some T-Shirt Graphic Design Talent...
You could put the Rock Hardware logo on the shirt somewhere and sell them through the RH direct mail channel.

(removed)

19-Jun-2003
10:53:04 AM

I think Ethiopia is "only" 29. You'd have to ask someone who could actually climb it though ... anybody out there who can actually climb this sort of stuff out there wanna give us an idea of what these things actually are ?


phil_nev

19-Jun-2003
11:11:23 AM

Totaly forget about demon flower.... Would make a good addition at 31 also.

mikl law

19-Jun-2003
12:31:51 PM

Are these classics at the grade, or benchmarks?
If they are benchmarks are they top of the grade, or middle of the grade?
You need routes that suit a "typical" climber (not slabby, technical, jambing, or scary).

17 Missing Link _ I think not, too dangerous. If you are competent and solid on balancy climbing, it's 15, if you are a gym bunny it might as well be 27. how about lemmington, nice and easy and well protected?

18 How about Gilt edged? good climbing and varied?

BTW, I tell everyone that Arapiles is the best place to climb under 23, there are so many great easy routes there, but not to bother with harder stuff as it's nothing special. Have a nice flight is pretty good though.


Hardware

19-Jun-2003
1:14:46 PM

Does'nt the length of a climb come into this grading system???
?

? ?
?

climbingjac

19-Jun-2003
3:59:09 PM

"Orinoco Flow" is in the Victoria Range. In the Eureka area I think. It is a HB route, and it probably isn't in the guide, because as far as I can gather, he's not all that fussed about "writing up" his routes. He figures word will get around. He he he he he

(removed)

19-Jun-2003
4:09:20 PM

Claw - Benchmarks supposedly. Middle of the grade and (as you mentioned) not suited to one particular climber (this was in my initial question). To find classics you could just go to the back of the guide and pick the ones with stars. But they have to be worth doing and have seen a few repeats for comparison's sake - hence the classic or semi-classic status that most of these routes have.

Plus, Araps has great routes up to 27 I rekcon. A bit of a harsh call saying nothing above 23 is worthwhile, particularly when you put a lot of them up !! Are you just hanging shit on yourself here ? 25 is particular has gotta be the grade to climb at Araps.

Lemmington is 19 not 17, not that I'm totally happy with 19 either ...

Robin

19-Jun-2003
6:42:03 PM

I agree with most of the above comments. I think of test pieces as being either undergraded, under protected or both. As for a bench mark I would think something that is consistent and around mid grade. Most of the climbs I think should be listed as 'benchmarks' have already been listed by others. Here's a couple of other suggestions:

17 Maharajah - Buffalo - I know it has jamming but there are also face moves and a committing slab out to finish.

18 Entertainer - Araps - good climb, fairly consistent

19 Exotic Dishes - Peking face - sustained climbing, long pitch, good protection

20 - most have been covered, probably Quo Vadis has my vote

21 - The Ascention - Gramps - probably more of a test piece rather than a bench mark but fantastic, sustained climbing.

22 - Return to Gariwerd - Gramps - nothing hard for 22 but super consistent for the grade.

23 - Hmmm, Curtain Call seemed very consistent but then again I never quite got across those last few moves (is my #3RP still fixed before the final up then across?)

Joe

20-Jun-2003
12:05:20 AM

I reckon ethiopia or tourniquet at grade 30. Other 30's - Bossanova, Lifestyling, Cripple Nipple. Other 31's - Academia, Demon Flower.
Who's A Naughty Boy regarded 31 by some, likewise nicotine.

kieranl

20-Jun-2003
10:31:32 PM

Megan,
There's actually two ways to do the final overhang of D Minor. The obvious way (cranking up left of the crack) is harder and might rate 15. The other way, jugging up right of the crack and than rocking back right when the left side of the crack lays back, is easier but it looks steeper so people avoid it


HM33

3-Jul-2003
2:33:49 PM

for 23 how can you over look the mega consistent angry arborist at scoop rocks?

great climbing!!

steve


nmonteith

3-Jul-2003
5:09:21 PM

The biggest sandbag in ther Gramps!. Rohan took numerous tries to tick this the day after he redpointed Monkey Puzzle.


Rich

7-Jul-2003
10:27:51 AM

On 6/07/2003 pat wrote:
in the end the ropedrag was
>so bad i had to stop 3/4 up on the ledge and begin to haul up the last
>8m of slack before contemplating suicide. 3 stars--> blah !!!

I think that Missing Link is generally climbed with doubles, thus eliminating the horrible drag scenario. It also believe this makes it heaps safer as i know u would be at least sniffing the rock dust if u fell whilst clipping on a single on a couple of spots, as is the case on preservative added next door to this.

kieranl

7-Jul-2003
9:03:21 PM

Rich, totally agree. Missing Link requires double ropes for realistic protection

There are 94 messages in this topic.