UKH

Two news articles on UKC recently have statements that have incorrect statements on them to basically pump up the relevance of the post.

one regarding the first time 3 GB climbers making a WC Finals when we had 4 in Leeds in 1989! Whilst I am totally supportive of the great efforts of Toby, Max and Erin don’t forget your history.

two regarding Michaela  being the first woman to redpoint 9a+ and on sight 8b+ when it has been done by Anak Verhoeven who onsighted 8c. I have nothing against Michaela and it is a superb achievement but again don’t distort history when Anak has already done this. 

It is not difficult to check things in the age of the inter net please can we have accurate statements rather than sensational headlines otherwise UKC will just become The Sun of the climbing press!

In reply to Ian Dunn:

The line “Michaela was the first—and remains the only—woman in the world to climb both 9a+ and 8B+” refers to an 8B+ bouder grade and not to her 8b+ on sight. 

In reply to Tyler:

It doesn’t, it talks about Crimptonite at Olina which is a pretty big boulder problem!! 

In reply to Ian Dunn:

“Michaela was the first—and remains the only—woman in the world to climb both 9a+ and 8B+.” is a true statement.

“Michaela was the first—and remains the only—woman in the world to climb both 9a+ and on-sight 8b+” isn’t.

The article says the former you are arguing about the latter. 

In reply to Ian Dunn:

This is a ridiculous characterisation. Your second accusation is based on your own misreading of the article that you're now doubling down on even after having it explained. Your first might be correct, but it's certainly not a trivial one to fact check as you've suggested. 1989 is going right back to the days when competition climbing was still finding its feet and I can't find full results from back then using Google. Wikipedia has headline results but not a full list of finalists and the IFSC results site only goes back to 1990. It's interesting to have the history remembered, and I'm glad you've mentioned it, but it could have been done as a helpful addition rather than unnecessarily trying to attack UKC over it.

In reply to Tyler: The article does not mention bouldering, and therefore is misleading. If it had stated she is the first woman to redpoint 9a+ and climb 8b+ boulder then I wouldn’t have mentioned it. The article talks about her Crimptonite onsight. UKC took the info from Planet Mountain and should have made it clear it was talking about boulders and not routes. 

In reply to Ian Dunn:

I agree with you that you should have entitled this thread UKC Grammar Checking

In reply to Ian Dunn:

The article says this "Michaela was the first—and remains the only—woman in the world to climb both 9a+ and 8B+." (no idea if it's been edited or not). There's a well understood capitalisation convention which means that means 9a+ route and 8B+ boulder. I agree it could be clearer for people who don't know about that convention, but that is what it means.

In reply to Fellover:

It should also be fairly clear from the context that it's talking about different disciplines.  Once a climber has climbed a 9a+ route it really isn't remarkable that they've also climbed an 8b+ route.

Given that the headline to that article was about a 9a+ redpoint and an 8b+ onsight though, you're quite right that it could have been clearer and it's understandable that the OP misunderstood.

If there's an error or somesuch in a news article on here it's very easy to get in touch with UKC and they'll make a correction and/or clarification as necessary, there's really no need to start a forum thread to rant about it.  Not only is getting in touch with the author privately a much more agreeable way to deal with a potential issue, it also eliminates the risk of making a tit of oneself if it turns out you've just got the wrong end of the stick.

In reply to deepsoup:

Yes, it does appear to be a case of the OP getting the wrong end of the stick. It has been said before, but writing "bouldered 8B+" would make these things clearer. It's not necessarily that folk don't know about the capitals convention for bouldering, but it's an easy thing to miss if one is thinking about sport climbing when they read it.  

In reply to Michael Gordon:

Indeed.  When i used to write technical reports for the customer, i used to make sure things were "bleedin' obvious".  It's the comminucators fault if the reader gets the wrong end of the stick.

I, for one, never knew that boulder grades came in capitals.  A 'B' before the grade might have been less prone to mis-interpretation.  I guess that boat has long since sailed.

But yes, as others have intimated, a quiet word with the UKC team might have achieved the same end without stoking the hive...

In reply to Dave Cundy:

I did, but still reckon publications would do better to use the full Sunday grade format F9a+ and Font 8B+.

In reply to Ian Dunn:

You know that "3" is not the same number as "4" right?

I don't normally nit pick in such a pedantic way but it does rather seem to be the theme of this thread.

In reply to henwardian:

how else should one nit pick? 🤣

In reply to CantClimbTom:

Without the space, perhaps?

In reply to Michael Gordon:

I made a very similar comment about an article a few months back and the reaction I got implied that only a simpleton would make that mistake.

In reply to Ian Dunn:

Yep, the headline says 9a+ Redpoint and 8b+ onsight then lower down the b is changed to a B.

I get it now but very confusing.

E

In reply to CantClimbTom:

Traditionally, I'd say in a physical way