I've heard different things...

Would those in the know consider the ice rating back east to be harder or easier than those in CO/CA? More aireated? Dirty? I'm curious as all get out and with ice season gone, I'm clinging to your opinions for motivation

Looks good to me:



Source

I used to climb a long time in NY (Catskills and Daks) Vermont (the Lake and Smugs) and New Hampshire and have climbed in California and Colorado (along with Canada, yada, yada, yada). I'm just a punter at ice but on the East Coast and on the West Coast and in the middle, there is easy and hard climbs. As for the ratings.....

The thing I don't like about the NEI rating system is that the commitment factor is factored into the technical rating. Its just me, but I prefer just the facts and I can figure everything else out. Black Dike is one.... sorry but IMHO its over-rated in difficulty.

The problem with the question you ask is that ice ratings are so condition dependent. You can have something that is usually WI4 but in a crappy ice year its full on WI5+ (have been on those) and some WI5 climbs in a great year are really only WI4- (and I have been on those more often- Gravities Rainbow outside of Ouray was an example). Another example is Ames Ice Hose. What do you rate it when you have to drytool much of the first pitch which is somewhat common. Compare that to when the ice is thick and thunker all the way to the ground, which is also common from what I've seen (although I'm not a local).

Some routes can change not seasonally but more for longer periods of times due to changing water tables. Do you then take what used to be a given grading and make it harder or easier?????

Forget the ratings and just get out there and enjoy tthe beauty of the climbing.

This topic is very subjective. Be prepared to get a lot of different answers.

I think that CClaude answered what I was looking for: why NEI ratings are different than regular WI ratings.

Why/how is committment factored into these? Why not give a seperate grade like anything else in the US. Our attempts at being European?