Jasper's Dihedral 

I gave this three stars; I think it is probably one of the best routes in the area, but it begs the question: does that alone merit four stars, or would you compare it to other climbs in other areas? I'm not sure I could say that this route was on a par with, say, Dark Shadows at Red Rocks or the Kor-Ingalls Route on Castleton Tower. In fact, I'm not sure that I could say this route was as good as Cat in the Hat (which I also gave three stars), but I would think it's certainly worth more than two. Ian, what criteria do you use to rate routes from dissimilar areas?

Hey Jon, I've also wondered what to do about star ratings. I have had a bit of an internal debate as to rate relative to the area or all the climbs I've ever done. It is really hard to compare two climbs such as Cat and the Hat (multi-pitch sandstone) to Jasper's Dihedral (45ft quartzite). So I try to give star ratings relative to the area but also keep in mind the big picture of climbs I've done elsewhere. So some routes I have given three or four stars simply because they are the best climbs in the area but would probably be only two stars when compared to other areas. That's what I like about mountain project though is that everyone has there say in ratings and number of stars. That being said I think Jasper's is worthy of the three stars I gave it. Its probably up there as one of the best routes at blue mounds, but i didn't think it didn't quite deserved four stars given the perspective of some other routes that I've done, and because its not all that sustained. It is a fun climb with an exciting finish, and in my opinion definitely worth doing.