Dear Boulderers: A Letter From Your Routesetters

Photo by Smash It Visuals

Dear Cliffs Boulderers,

As routesetters, we're employees of The Cliffs, but we work for you guys, the climbers. Everyday we set, we're thinking about who will be climbing these routes: how tall, how small, how strong, how experienced. We want the routes to be fun, but we also want them to challenge you.

Grades are important: they mark your progress, they make you try harder, they give you a concrete goal to work towards. But grades also limit you - we’ve all watched climbers approach a fresh set, scan the grades, and let those grades decide what they’ll be climbing that day.

We want you to experience the climbs for what they are, not for what they’re graded. We want you to stand back, look at the wall, and see what looks fun to you, and climb that.

So… we’re going to try something new. We’re taking the grades off the bouldering walls!

They won’t be gone completely - instead, we’ll be posting them off to the side of each wall. That way, it’s your choice if you look at the grade.

This will be implemented starting the next boulder set, this Wednesday, May 10 in LIC, and Thursday, May 11 in Valhalla. Grades at LIC will still be posted on Fridays, as they have been, but this time, off to the side, not taped on the wall. This is an adjustment for us as well, so please direct any comments, questions, or suggestions to [email protected].

Thanks for climbing on our stuff!

The Cliffs Routesetters