Why do the grades in Boulders vary so much? Blue as hard as red and vice versa?

Sometimes the degrees in Boulders vary so much that a blue can be as difficult as a red and vice versa. How can this be?

The difficulty levels have a large overlap which is a deliberate tactic. This makes it easier for climbers to strive. For example. climbs most purple, but always misses a bit, then some climbers will tend not to try the reds. But if you try all the reds and succeed 1 out of 10 times, you've started a new level of difficulty. This helps to keep motivation high and it helps to get out of your comfort zone and go for something you find difficult.

The first thing you need to know about severity levels, both indoor and outdoor, is that they are not absolute. Difficulty levels usually represent a few people's thoughts on the problem in question. Outdoors, it's typically the person who climbed the problem First visit and a few friends who set a difficulty level. If they are all good at crimps, then a supercrimped problem is likely to be undergraded. Conversely, if crimps is their weakness, it will be overgraded. Once a difficulty level is set, it is very rarely changed and the problem will forever either surprise or frustrate the many passionate climbers.

In Boulders, the difficulty levels are even more fluid, as they are not set against outdoor grades. It is generally difficult to hit a specific difficulty level. Route builders can have strong or weak days. Friction can vary from day to day and wear and tear on the grips will increase over the life of the set. Furthermore, it is impossible to screw the same to a very diverse climber. There is a metre to metre difference in reach between our larger and our smaller members. And besides, it's impossible to hit within everyone's thoughts about climbing and different characteristics.

That said, should the beta and difficulty level always be the same for everyone? In Boulders, the answer is no. In a sense, we're not trying to hit it right every time we put problems on the walls. We look at what the difficulty levels are throughout the hall, how they are climbed and by whom. From there, we continually adjust. There's no end goal, it's a process.

Difficulty also comes second to fun and games. We'd Long rather hit it right on fun-factor or learning than on difficulty.

So what are the difficulty levels in Boulders if they are not absolute? They are an average of the problems hanging in the hall at any given time. That's all there is to it.

A problem should not be seen in relation to its difficulty, but as an invitation to fun and frolic. And then you get strong along the way!

Happy climbing!