Zion vs Yosemite grades/style?

Majority of my climbing career over the last 6 years has been exclusively Zion free climbing and occasional clean aid.   I have been so enthralled by this area that I have surprisingly never made my way over to Yosemite.   During this fall, I may venture over to Yosemite for the first time.   How does the grade difficulties and climbing style compare/differ from one another?   

If you have been clean aiding in Zion, you will have no problem clean aiding in Yosemite.  Yosemite cracks much ‘stickier’!

your choice of nut tools for cleaning may vary slightly.  

bump. going there next week. how do the grades compare for free climbing and cracks?

Agree with the clean aid, you should have no problems there. I’ve found I can free climb about 3 letter grades harder in Zion vs the valley, although this is somewhat dependent on style too. If you have solid crack technique you’ll be fine, but learning to use tiny granite footholds can be a bit of a learning curve. 

Zion C2 is way scarier than Yosemite C2 imo. 

Creed Archibald wrote:

Zion C2 is way scarier than Yosemite C2 imo. 

Agreed. It's not often you have to worry about placements blowing out in bomber Yosemite granite

Andrew Schafer wrote:

Agreed. It's not often you have to worry about placements blowing out in bomber Yosemite granite

Only being 125lbs has allowed me to be slightly less gripped (only slightly) when I've had to do delicate C2/C3 moves in Zion.  

James Barrow wrote:

Only being 125lbs has allowed me to be slightly less gripped (only slightly) when I've had to do delicate C2/C3 moves in Zion.  

Being of similar weight, you'll appreciate being lighter when you're dancing through fixed mank minefields in Yosemite. 

Yos aid is way easier than Zion aid. Free grades are similar.

Looking to go for desert shield this fall.  Was thinking if I can handle that c3 route.   Maybe I have a chance at climbing/aiding the nose and zodiac next spring?  Thoughts?  Am I ready for zodiac?

People have been telling me DS is not that bad and the placements have become keyholes.  Only a few spots of c3.

With two sets of DMM offsets and some brass Desert shield isn’t too bad. Definitely some thoughtful placements in spots but not bad. Haven’t done zod yet but I’d imagine it’s easier. 90% of my placements on the crux pitches on DS were nuts. The aid on the Nose is EASY. Get your big wall systems dialed, climb a grade V in Zion, and go send 

First crux aid pitch of desert shield was my first aid pitch ever and was scary for me but seemed super reasonable. The more brassies the better imo.