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Work on the 2nd edition of the North Wales Bouldering guide is well under way and this has prompted a decision on which grading system to use.

“After some deliberation I have decided to go with Font grades throughout. We have used split grades on NWB.com for a long time now so I would hope that most folk have a grasp of how to translate between the two systems. Also, the widely used capitalisation of the letter part of the Font grade eliminates any confusion with sport grades or British tech grades.”

Said Si Panton, author of the new guide.

The original intention was to use split V/Font grades in an attempt to keep everybody happy. However, for the following reasons a clean adoption of the Font system (rather than the V grade system)seems appropriate:

Split grades look a bit ugly on the page, especially in the higher numbers when you have a halfway grade (e.g. V10/11/7C+/8A).

Font grades allow for greater accuracy in the equivalent V3 - V5 range as you have two grades to describe each level. (i.e. V3 = 6A or 6A+, V4 = 6B or 6B+, V5 = 6C or 6C+)

Font grades eliminate any problems associated with the V8/7B/+ conundrum.

Font grades have almost reached a point of universal use across the different regions in the UK.

It is a simple linear system which the vast majority of climbers are familiar with.

News reports on NWB.com will only feature Font grades from now on.

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