Stupid gym grading

Does anyone actually like the way that some modern gyms grade boulders? My gym uses colored dots that represent a 3 v-grade range that the problem could be. I saw a new gym open in the UK that uses "spiciness" to gauge how hard boulders are. First of all, nothing about gym bouldering is spicy. Second, climbing grades already suck, so why should each gym try to make their own arbitrary grading systems instead of just using the v-grade or font scale. Are they really that hard to understand?

I don't care how gyms grade. I haven't found a gym that isn't wildly off from outdoor grading. I suspect the reason for the gym using a weird grading system is because many people have quite a bit of ego wrapped up in their climbing number which can lead to complaints when it doesn't align with real climbing.

This should go in the "what in climbing are you a snob about?" thread

I would have thought that that dumb or alternative gym boulder grades were caused by the V-scale, so it's surprising to hear that it happens outside the US, too.

*shrugs* I would prefer just using outdoor grades, whatever those are in the region the gym is in. Can't say I care particularly much. 5.x or x chili peppers or whatever, grades get even sillier in gyms so I think it's best just not to care about it too much.

I'll add that I do like the boulder grading system in my gym. Most importantly for me, it feels pretty darn consistent. So whether or not it's "accurate" with outdoors, it works as a tool for measuring progress within the gym. They use a similar system of colors that cover V1-3, V3-5, V5-7, V7-9, V9+. When an area is reset the boulders just get a color for a while, which I like because I'll be more likely to try something that may end up with a number higher than what I think I "should" be on. I suck at overhanging climbs so yes they feel harder than a vertical climb of the the same grade, but I don't think that means the overhanging one is the wrong grade. To have the grade I can climb on vertical be the same as the grade I can climb overhung wouldn't really make sense to me, so I don't mind that one V5 can be much harder for me than another in this regard. 

Porter Archibald wrote:

My gym uses colored dots that represent a 3 v-grade range . . . . . instead of just using the font scale.

The dot scale is based off the font colored circuits

Porter Archibald wrote:

 First of all, nothing about gym bouldering is spicy. 

You clearly don't boulder.  The number of injuries I've seen from bouldering is pretty high.  High enough to call all bouldering spicey.  Every fall is a ground fall.

Second, climbing grades already suck, so why should each gym try to make their own arbitrary grading systems instead of just using the v-grade or font scale. Are they really that hard to understand?

Why don't we have a Joshua Tree (JT-Scale) and a Yosemite (YB-Scale)?  We can't compare apples to oranges...  I'm glad they are not trying to imitate outdoor bouldering.  I wish gyms would create their own grading system for ropes as well!

1/10

Porter Archibald wrote:

Does anyone actually like the way that some modern gyms grade boulders? My gym uses colored dots that represent a 3 v-grade range that the problem could be. I saw a new gym open in the UK that uses "spiciness" to gauge how hard boulders are. First of all, nothing about gym bouldering is spicy. Second, climbing grades already suck, so why should each gym try to make their own arbitrary grading systems instead of just using the v-grade or font scale. Are they really that hard to understand?

Gyms grade this way because grading is subjective and the noobs don't get that so they constantly complain that this route or that boulder problem is easy/harder than posted.