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Testpieces at the grade

(removed)

17-Jun-2003
5:16:46 PM

Okay, another one:

Would it be possible to come up with a list of testpieces at each grade within Victoria ? The routes would have to be:

concensus at the grade,
have had a lot of ascents - not much point having a testpiece that only a handful have done -
not too specific to one style climbing (ruling out, say, Passport to Insanity although this fails under the concensus rule) particularly favouring some over others (this may be tricky to find)
a good route
not overly run-out or dangerous (so that it didn't preclude sporty types from the equation)

I'm tipping most of these routes would come from Arapiles given that the history and volume of people climbing there would ensure that the volume of ascents requirement is met, although some top end routes surely could be found in the Grampians too.

My initial suggestions are:
12 Bard
13 Muldoon
14 Lamplighter
15 D Minor
16 Brolga
17 Surface To Air
18 Eurydice
19 Tannin
20
21 Kachoong
22
23 Birdman of Alcatraz
24 Dreadnought
25 Have A Good Flight
26 Fortress
27 Chasin' The Shadow
28 Monkey Puzzle
29 Serpentine
30 ??
31 The Lord Of The Rings
32 ??
33 That hard thing at Muline ???

Anyone care to argue ???

(Separate question. Has anyone given a grade to Nathan Hoette's Spartacus yet ?)


alrob

17-Jun-2003
6:48:55 PM

32 Punks in the gym?
30 Contra Arms Pump?


tmarsh

17-Jun-2003
7:54:45 PM

Tannin and Kachoong are pretty soft for the grade, I reckon. For a grade 19 at Araps - Quisling!

At araps, New Image is *the* grade 20 testpiece, IMHO. And a corker of a route at that.

Something like Comic Relief or Chinese Algebra are more like it for a 21. That said, I'd rate Pathos at Bundaleer as the test-piece 21. If you can climb that, you're ready for 22.

At 22, maybe Lindorff's Strutting through the Stratosphere at Mr Difficult, although that may be a wee bit obscure for your purposes.

It might be better if you defined what you mean by testpiece a little more. Is it the route whose difficulty sets the standard for that grade, or is it a route that really tests you at the grade?

Cheers,
Tim

(removed)

17-Jun-2003
8:03:33 PM

Tim - Sort of trying to achieve a benchmark that others could use as a reference when grading new routes. Solid at the grade but not stiff for the grade I guess. So the former suggestion out of your question - "the route whose difficulty sets the standard for that grade"

Yes, Kachoong felt soft, particularly next to Taste of Honey. Comic Relief is a great suggesion and probably a better route to boot.

I think Punks might have "slid" down to 31, hence ruling it out ...

Joe

17-Jun-2003
8:17:46 PM

Many Still regard it 32

kieranl

17-Jun-2003
11:21:26 PM

I'd agree that New image is a good 20. Kachoong is a soft-touch 21 but it still psychs people out. Mind you, given a choice of 21's, I would back myself on getting up Kachoong before Comic Relief or Pathos.


phil_nev

17-Jun-2003
11:29:30 PM

im not really sure what your after. To me a testpeice is a route which IS solid at the grade, meaning if you can do that particular route, you can do pretty much any other route of the same grade.

From what i herer (havnt done the routes) but quite a few of the routes you sugested are regarded as 'soft touches' at the grade. Your list almost seems like more of a classic climbs list at each grade.....

Just my 2 c

Dalai

18-Jun-2003
9:05:33 AM

Punk has been for quite some time regarded as 31, especially after Pollit 'created' the bird bath hold in the crux.

Contra Arms Pump has also been talked about as being 29 also.

(removed)

18-Jun-2003
10:14:57 AM

They sort of need to be classics because a lot of people need to have done them for there to be concensus.

Phil, which ones do you think are soft ? (I've conceded Kachoong but am replacing it with Comic Relief anyway ...)

Perhaps the heading should have been "Benchmarks at the grade" to prevent ambiguity in the title.

I need a better suggstion for 24 (I've done Dreadnought but I don't know how many others do it now) and 27 (whilst CTS at Buandik is a decent route, I'm not sure how many do it / have done it, and surely there's something better ??? - maybe Angular Perspective Pitch 1 ?? The great 27's at Arapiles - Mind Arthritis and Final Departure - see very few ascents and are scary-arse routes). Also, we don't have anything at 30 and 32 or harder yet either. Nor do we have any suggestions at 22 yet either ...

New Image is given 21 in Louise's guide. Maybe Little Thor for 20, it gets enough ascents, that's for sure.


Rich

18-Jun-2003
10:33:04 AM

Kachoong is too unique to be any kind of benchmark i would have thought.. a few gapfillers in my opinion..

19: The Desired
20: Wizard of Ice
21: Chinese Algebra


nmonteith

18-Jun-2003
11:35:25 AM

Sandanista at grade 22.


Megan

18-Jun-2003
12:16:50 PM

I haven't done enough climbing at Araps to pick the benchmarks/testpieces at the various grades, but I would have counted D Minor as a grade 15 classic rather than a testpiece. Louise Shepherd grades it as 15, but the other guides seem to think it's a 14, and the first half of the climb is at a lower grade anyway (not that I'm up for leading the second pitch myself yet anyway :)

(removed)

18-Jun-2003
12:34:22 PM

Neil, yup, excellent suggestion for 22.
Megan, good point on D Minor, any other suggestions at the grade ?
Rich, Is The Desired akaTony's route ??


Rich

18-Jun-2003
12:41:13 PM

On 18/06/2003 FatBoy wrote:
>Rich, Is The Desired akaTony's route ??

yep thats right, i did have it as the desired/tony's route but i thought some people may think i was electing two diff climbs! great solid undertaking i thought.. i'd agree with eurydice being the testpiece for 18 and funnily enough its right next door.


Mike

18-Jun-2003
12:45:07 PM

I've seen (at the Natimuk climbing shop) a T-Shirt along these lines, entitled "The Tick List". Hmmmm, I wonder if anyone actually marks the T-Shirt as they progress down the list, and wear it around the pines like a badge of honor or something.

Eurydice is easy for 18, what with the bolt on the first crux of P1, and all the fixed mank on the topout crux of P1, and all those rest stances. I mean, it's hardly pumpy. A test piece 18 would be "The Rack", and it's only 15m.


Megan

18-Jun-2003
12:48:41 PM

I've actually seen someone bouldering at the Mill wearing one of those t-shirts, and yes, they had actually ticked the climbs they'd done (about half of them from memory) :)


Rich

18-Jun-2003
1:02:00 PM

actually mike yeh the rack is definitely a testpiece, assuming ur not a crack junky from way back then its probably a doddle!


Richard

18-Jun-2003
1:05:59 PM

I think the Bard is way way overrated .. the moves aren't that great, if it wasnot because of its location, and number of pitches, it wouldn't get three stars. Too me, a good route is good evebn if it's not on a proud buttress right next to camp. The watchtower chimney I reckon is a better grade 12 climb.

Touchstone is a really nice grade 14 climb, and I like Tocatta as well, the first pitch is consistant. Lamplighter is scary, but prehaps a bit easy for the grade. Certainly there are a lot of harder grade 14 climbs. D minor has a more severe crux, and easier below, I think a testpiece should be consistant at the grade, not just a classic climb. eg Kamikaze would not be a good grade 16 testpiece because it's a one move wonder, as is trapeze. Blockbuster is a better grade 11 testpiece.

my 2c worth..

Cheers


haskell

18-Jun-2003
1:22:42 PM

21 Soweto
20 Electric Warrior
19 Morhpydd (sp?) and/or lemmington
18 Scorpion
17 Witch

The above are taken as if the grade given was your limit or very close too.

As for little thor at 20, it's just scary not difficult (well for a 20). (I think lemmington is harder, but thats just me)

and if your limit's 22 and you get sandanista your probably ready for 24.. A year and 1/2 later and it still has me shaking.


phil_nev

18-Jun-2003
1:23:46 PM

13 Muldoon
14 Lamplighter
15 D Minor or debutanute at rosea
16 Brolga
17 Surface To Air
18 The Rack
19 Morrfyd (spelling), quissling, Diaghliev
20 Little thor (hard and classic) or Blimp
21 Comic Releif or Pathos
22 The seccond coming (havnt done it) just a sugestion though
23 Birdman of Alcatraz (good choice, have heard from quite a gew people that this is good and hard)
24 Dreadnought/ two tribes
25 Diazepam
26 Sirico
27 Chasin' The Shadow/ PCL/ angular pitch 1
28 Cobwebs
29 Serpentine
30 Daniel or tiger
31 Lord Of The-Rings
32 punks
33 That hard thing at Muline ???

You ruled out a lot of routes by saying that the cant be scary (mind artritis looks great, but as you said is scarry as hell)

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