What does 5.10 even mean?

Technique: edge, slab, jam, offwidth, layback

Rock: granite, basalt, quartz, limestone, and a wide variety of sandstones

Regions: NE, SE, Midwest, Rocky Mtns, SW, Cali, PNW

Liberally intermix those three dimensions and it essentially get's down to the fact that all rock is local and, while you can assume certain generalities, you should basically assume the local specifics are not insignificant and what's 'normal' for the locals won't be for you. Expect to be bouted and epic at times - it's part of the fun of going new places and trying new things.

I love the man card.. Where you find it?

I saw it years ago on another mp forum and held onto it. Keep one on you at all times, you never know when you will have to opportunity to get one step closer to truly being a man!

Lol.

All climbing grades are just a relative measurement tool, like a meter or a foot. Is the metric system sandbagged if an object is one inch but is 2.54 centimeters in metric? Its the same dimension physically no matter what unit of measure you use.

I learned to crack climb at Vedauwoo, so I'm better at offwidths and flared cracks. So a climb that feels relatively easy to me may frustrate people not experienced with those types of climbs. An offwidth climb rated 5.6 in Kopiska's 70's guidebook is rated 5.8+ on Mountain Project. It was similar to other 5.6's in the area so the rating was consistent within Vedauwoo.

Remember that in the 60's and 70's areas were developed by smaller groups of local climbers and often kept their areas "secret", and didn't publish guidebooks. Not surprising that grades feel different for different areas.

Instead of worrying about "sandbagging" grades at an area, climb some routes and get a feel for what "this area's 5.10b" is like (e.g. - "This is 5.11a where I usually climb") and attempt climbs within your ability accordingly.

Arlo, that works as long as the grades are consistent at a crag. When something is uncharacteristically stiff for an area (i.e. a 3 cm inch), that's what I would call a true "sandbag."

Hi Arlo. A lot of climbers only wish that climbing grades were as objective as standard measurements. A foot - after all - is always a foot no matter what; whereas a 5.9 could mean anything. It would be nice if a 5.9 meant the same thing in Yosemite as it does at the Gunks. Unfortunately that's rarely the case and you hardly ever know what you're getting into. So you are right that climbing grades are (currently) at best merely loose guidelines, and it's usually best to assume that a route rating is sandbagged before setting off to climb it.