Frequently Asked Questions

For the route calculator, the boulder sections should be between 5 and 10 moves, and the route sections should be more than 15 moves to achieve an accurate result. Be careful with the quality of the rests you enter into the calculator; see the "Which rest to choose?" section of this FAQ. Also, an inconsistent description can lead to an inconsistent result. For example, 7A/7A+ N 6a N 7A (= 8a+) will be read by the calculator as 7A/7A+ N 7A (= 8a+) because the 6a doesn’t change anything, whereas the central 6a can only be a good rest for a 7A/7A+ climber, so the correct description should be 7A/7A+ G 6a G 7A (= 8a). So, be careful with inconsistent breakdowns: "Garbage In, Garbage Out!"

For the boulder calculator, "One Move" sections should, as the name implies, consist of only 1 move, while the "Sections" should consist of 2 to 5 moves.

A good rest can be defined as a rest where you can recover very well, 90 to 100%. For example, it can be sitting on a ledge, or a very good kneebar where you can stay for a long period, or a big jug with good footholds... It really depends on the climber feeling. It is also linked with how hard was the section before. If the section you are coming from was quite easy, you will not be so pumped and you will recover better than if you arrive totally pumped. A bad rest is just a short shake out. So a medium rest will be in between. You cannot recover very well but you can stay enough to calm down. A no hand rest is not necessarily a good rest. For example, a really friction dependant kneebar where the body core is at full load can be very demanding and you will probably feel more a medium rest than a good one even if you are able to release both hands. It’s all about feelings and there is no predefined answer depending on the holds configuration.

No. A long boulder is like a hybrid climb between a route and a boulder. Unfortunately, Darth Grader doesn't have the knowledge on long boulder problem grading. For the route grading calculator, boulder problems must be between 5 and 10 moves to get a fairly accurate result. Also, when a section is about 15 moves or more, endurance seems to prevail over strength, so a route grade is better. In Fontainebleau, when a boulder is too long, the grade is given as a traverse grade, not a boulder grade anymore. This sometimes creates confusion because of the identical notation. Darth Grader's boulder calculator seems accurate for sections between 1 to 5 moves and for relatively short boulders, but the boulder database is insufficient to verify more precisely.

No, Darth Grader in no way replaces human experience, exchange, and consensus, which are essential in the grading system of sportclimbing. On the contrary, it positions itself as a decision-support tool, designed to enrich discussions and refine climbers' insights into the difficulty of routes.

It is important to note that climbing grades have always been subjective. Darth Grader does not eliminate this subjectivity. On the contrary, it takes it into account by providing an evaluation based on the compilation of feedback from each section of a route. The breakdown simply shifts the debate from the overall grade of the route to the grades of its sections and the feel of the rests separating the sections. This approach aims to make the grading process more transparent and nuanced without claiming infallible objectivity. It is merely an additional tool in the spectrum of insights used to propose a grade.

It is also important to note that Darth Grader is not a rock surface scanner and will therefore never be an arbitration camera. It does not establish absolute truths about grades.

In summary, Darth Grader is not a great censor of grades but a tool at the service of climbers, designed to support their sovereignty and enrich their practice with a structured and nuanced approach. Human insight remains at the heart of grading, and Darth Grader only provides an additional perspective to fuel discussions. In the end, Darth Grader does not bring anything fundamentally new to the world of grading, except encouraging more discussions.

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