Today I was climbing indoors here in Germany. In the beginning it was quite confusing, since all the routes are rated with UIAA grades, which range from 3 (doesn't probably 1, but the lowest I've ever seen is 3) to 12, which roughly corresponds to a 5.15a. Another very unusual feature of the gym was the height: The longest climbs there were over 70ft long. As a warm-up I hopped on a 5, which looked pretty reasonable. It turned out to be a good pick...After a few more climbs (up to 7) I got pretty tired and started to think about how these things would be rated in gyms back in the Bay Area...Since the holds and the route setting were quite different, I really couldn't tell.
Upon getting home I check a conversation table and was kind of shocked: the 5 corresponds to a 5.7, and 7 is a 10c. Before I left the US two weeks ago, I was climbing 11c's! But then everyone agrees that the PG ratings are too soft... and are in no relation to ratings outside. This made me think some more and it seemed about right...the 5 felt like a 5.7 outside, and the 7 like a 5.10 outside... I guess they got it right.
On other news: I've been running regularly last week, and I will sign up for a few races...basically the ones I listed here. I will swap the distances of the Aug. and Sep. races though. Last night I played around with some websites (mainly runnersworld.com), and came up with a trainings plan, which looks quite reasonable, and which leaves still enough time for climbing and even weekend trips.
I also realized, that I haven't climbed anything on my ticklist for the year! Time to start to work on that!
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