slippery slopers and polished holds

As a crusty old climber who doesn't use chalk, take this post with a laugh and a grain of salt.  I'm wondering if or when an often climbed route might be rated harder do to the polish factor of many ascents?  I've repeated lots of routes I did 20+ years ago, and many of the more classic, and especially accessible routes are so polished from use that they might warrant a harder grade?  Really, I don't care about grades anymore, I just don't much enjoy climbing on polished stone.  Actually, I hate climbing on worn-polished, slippery stone.  It makes me feel stupid.  I already know I'm stupid, but if MP had a rating system to incorporate the slippery/worn out and polished, chalked up factor of a route (POS, Polished Or Slippery) ... it might make me feel a bit less stupid, and old.

If it felt harder, grade it accordingly on MP. The grade goes up or down based on consensus. 

IF you really want to feel stupid, try Dry Falls ( https://www.mountainproject.com/area/106775078/dry-falls ), I know I never felt more stupid than I did there!

White Powder Problems. Its real>

I can think of one climb around here that I feel has gotten a solid number grade harder from polishing over 5 years.

I've always wondered about trying to unpolish the rock somehow. I'm sure some people would object but it seems kosher to me because you're modifying the climb to be closer to its original, natural state

Eli, just unscrew the holds and send them back in. ;). Barring that possibility, I would leave it alone.

For your feet.  Also, that only applies for routes set before the 90s.  There haven’t been any significant advancements since the invention of Stealth rubber.

For hard routes with slick and small holds I really line the La Sportiva genius.

Hobo Greg wrote: Any polishing of holds is negated by advances in rubber technology.

I don't buy it. I've seen it make a 5.8 into a 5.9 when the footholds are so polished that half the time your feet slip off of them.

I think maybe taking a little bit of sand paper to a few holds here and there would help restore the route to its natural condition and honestly improve the quality of the route a lot. Right now it seems kinda like a really poorly set gym route, hard for all the wrong reasons. 

eli poss wrote:

I don't buy it. I've seen it make a 5.8 into a 5.9 when the footholds are so polished that half the time your feet slip off of them.

If your feet slip off half the footholds on a 5.9 the problem isn't the polish. Please leave the routes alone. If you want manufactured climbing do it on your own woody. 

Daniel Winder wrote:

If your feet slip off half the footholds on a 5.9 the problem isn't the polish. Please leave the routes alone. If you want manufactured climbing do it on your own woody. 

Not true on this route. The footholds are at around 175-165 degrees if 180 is flat, and were they not polished (as they weren't 5 years ago) one would have no problem what-so-ever standing on them. 

It's far from manufactured routes, if anything having them polished is manufactured as they are not naturally like that. If anything, roughening them up a tiny bit would be making the route closer to natural than its current state.

Daniel Winder wrote:

... do it on your own woody. 

climbing friend,

that's what she would be saying!!!

ha!

myah!