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General Aid Rating Scale
- A1: All placements are rock solid and easy.
- A2: Placements are still bomber, but the placements are awkward
and a few difficult may be difficult.
- A3: Many placements are difficult, but there is the occasional
bomber piece.
- A4: There are several placements in a row that will hold nothing
more than body weight.
- A5: 20 meters (60 ft) or more of body placements in a row.
Modern Interpretation of Aid Scale - As
the envelope gets pushed upwards the impact is a downgrading in the ratings
here is a look at how modern aid lines are rated.
- A0: Hanging from gear, stepping on pitons, pulling up on nuts,
etc. Everything that doesn't require aiders and can't be honestly called
'free climbing'. Also known as "french free".
- A1: Easy aid. Placements are easy and bomber. Each piece should
hold a fall.
- A2: Moderate aid. Solid but often awkward and strenuous placements.
Maybe a difficult placement or two above good pro. Falls pose no danger.
- A2+: Moderate aid, but with more tenuous placements above good
pro. There is a potential for serious falls, but these will generally
be otherwise uneventfull.
- A3: Hard aid. Requires many tenuous placements in a row and
pieces need to be tested before weighting them. There should be solid
placements within the pitch, but they are rather few and far between.
During a fall, up to eight pieces of pro may rip out, but there generally
is little serious danger. Takes several hours to complete a pitch.
- A3+: A3, but with a dangerous fall potential.
- A4: Serious aid. Most placements hold little less than body
weight and falls are serious affairs. Being 10 to 15 meters (30 to 50
ft) above the last solid piece is not uncommon.
- A4+: Very serious aid. Placements are often very marginal and
pitches require many hours to complete.
- A5: Extreme aid. No piece in the whole pitch can be trusted
to hold a fall. No bolts or rivets in A5 pitches.
- A6: A5 with poor belays that won't hold a fall. The leader
pops and the whole team is airborne. No one sane has ever done this,
and no one insane who tried came back to tell us about it.
Differences in Aid Ratings between the US and Europe
In Europe , where most aid climbs were made long ago, this
scale may be adjusted downward. Put simply, A3 placements are difficult,
but will hold a short fall. A4 will involve some body weight placements,
but not necessarily many in a row. And A5 is just unheard of. In Europe,
A0 is used to indicate that fixed (and solid) pro is in place.
In the USA , modern equipment and the unrelentless drive
to climb ever bigger and more difficult Big Walls, has pushed aid climbing
to limits that were unimaginable a few decades ago. This has also changed
the interpretation of the rating scales.
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