Does the West Face count toward your of El Cap climbs?

I always thought that the shorter routes, East Buttress and West Face, didn't get the same status as the longer, grade 6 climbs, when counting El Cap ascents.

I always thought East Buttess didn't count, and the West Face was only counted once because after you do it once it is grade 4.

El Cap climbers out there - how do you count em?

Woot!
Erik Sloan
Yosemitebigwall.com

Obviously commitment grades are all over the place, but they don't change when you climb them again. You don't get bonus points for being slower/more incompetent than the 'average party speed', likewise people who climb the Nose in sub 4 hours don't call it grade III.

Erik Sloan wrote:I always thought that the shorter routes, East Buttress and West Face, didn't get the same status as the longer, grade 6 climbs, when counting El Cap ascents. I always thought East Buttess didn't count, and the West Face was only counted once because after you do it once it is grade 4. El Cap climbers out there - how do you count em? Woot! Erik Sloan Yosemitebigwall.com

Is this something you are personally worried about Erik?

Or are you forming a list of who's got the biggest peen?

Because that is usually done in inches, not in Grades lol.

But, if its on El Cap it has got to count as "an ascent".

However, for measuring El Cap Peen's it is about Grade 6's and how early the ascent after the FA.

ps. I do like your new guide, but can't rationalize no Cramming/Tips, no Freewheelin'/Quicksilver plus those other good Middle Apron routes, no Kaukulator and that other classic 1" crack on Lower Cathedral that I can't remember the name of (right across from middle apron)...hey it was 30 years ago! :P

Yo Tut,

Not worried at all - as climbers we all climb for our personal experiences on the mountain, for sure.

I'm writing a book called Climb the Nose right now, so thought I would put something together about the folks that are really obsessed with El Cap, and the kinds of things they record (haha!).

And once I started looking into it I was surprised that folks who claim some of the most climbs of El Cap had way different views about the numbers - one counts 13 ascents of the East Buttress, haha, so just thought I'd put it out there and see if this was ever written about somewhere, or what folks thought.

RE: routes in the Rock Climbing Yosemite Valley book:

Cramming/Tips are def worthy and will be in the next edition. My bad on that. Always so many new climbs going up here, it is hard to keep track of them all, but thanks for the suggestions.

Jon - re: your comment about grades the most modern topo calls West Face Grade 5, so that is why I thought it was more of a bonus climb than a true El Capper ;) Incredible climb though.