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No 186, June 15, 1999
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Rock Craft | Big Walls | Destinations | Training
Recommended Reading | Gear | Higher Education | Ratings

How hard can it be?

Aid ratings, like free ratings, are subject to interpretation. One person's A2 is another's A4. Unlike free ratings, aid ratings are closed ended, a system that tends to lump most wall routes into the middle A3 grade. As a starting point, consider the following aid definitions.

A0: Grabbing gear; tension traverses; pendulums; resting on gear.

A1: Aiders required; bombproof gear like bolts and straightforward piton, nut, and cam placements.

A2: Awkward, possibly sideways A1; occasional less-than-stonker placements.

A2+: Consecutive less-than-perfect placements; potentially dangerous passages like fixed heads, hooking, and decaying rivet ladders.

A3: Increased fall potential; some hard to get placements or placements that will only hold bodyweight. Most beginners will be seriously challenged by this grade.

A3+: Sustained tricky cruxes and multiple bodyweight placements; ledge falls and other hazardous landings possible; clean 60-foot fall potential.

A4: Big danger; long strings of bodyweight placements; long (60- to 100-feet) and dangerous falls possible onto ledges or obstacles.

A4+: Sustained A4; long loose or uncertain bodyweight passages; huge fall potential with serious, possibly deadly landings.

A5: The top end; maximum fear and danger; a full pitch of bodyweight placements; no drilled holes or enhanced placements.

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Rock Craft | Big Walls | Destinations | Training
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