Class of climbs

Question
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Followup To
Question -
I have been reading about different mountains and climbs, and there seems to be a classification system that is pretty straight forward.  Could you point me to a place where I could read about the different classes of climbs?  For example I read this statement regarding Mt. Ritter "Various routes up the mountain range in difficulty from class 2 and low class 3 snow and scrambling to difficult and dangerous class 4 and 5 technical rock climbs."

I also noticed that on your experience you put that you led 5.11 but now you are at 5.9.  What does that mean?

Thanks for your time,
Greg

Answer -
Dear Greg,

My shorthand version of the classification system is below:

Class I ?walking, sometimes steep, but never with doubtful footing or any danger of a fall.

Class II ?difficult walking, often steep with doubtful or slippery footing.  A slip or tumble is possible.  You never need to use your hands to make upward progress.  

Class III ?climbing, often on steep rock or snow.  Handholds and footholds must be utilized to make upward progress.  Injury inducing falls of up to five or six feet are possible.  You must use your hands to make upward progress.  

Class IV ?climbing on sustained steep rock or snow.  Knowledge of roped climbing is required.  Climbers should move one at a time and be belayed, that is protected by an anchored rope.  Long, fatal falls are possible, especially for the leader.

Class V ?technical rock climbing.  Each climber moves in turn.  Use of specialized protection equipment, helmets and shoes is required.  Detailed knowledge of climbing, anchoring, protection and descent techniques is required.  The rope is anchored at all times and is secured to the mountain at intermediate points by the leader.  Upward progress is made using natural hand and foot holds, however.  The rope is used only to protect against falls. Long, serious falls are possible.

Class VI ?technical rock climbing.  Same as for class V, except that natural holds are not available.  Climbers make upward progress by attaching the rope to the cliff and climbing it, or being hauled up by it.  Artificial ladders or etriers will likely come into use.  Highly technical equipment for attaching the rope and ladders to the cliff must be used.  El Cap in Yosemite Valley is the most famous venue for Class VI climbing.

I'd like to offer my own opinion that the most demanding of all these classes is Class III.  You've got nothing but your hands, your feet and your judgment.  Always remember that one man's Class III is another man's Class V.  Norman Clyde, the all time master of Class III, did some incredibly daring climbs without a rope.  Any time I get on one of his routes, I know I'm in for a serious day.  And I'm willing to turn around if I get spooked.  Also, I rarely climb a Class IV stretch of rock without dropping in some intermediate protection points.  This turns it into Class V, but it's just stupid not to do so if you can.  

For further discussion of the classes of climbs, I suggest that you acquire a copy of Mountaineering, the freedom of the Hills.

At the risk of confusing you, let me briefly describe the American decimal system for rating the difficulty of rock climbs.  This system is an offshoot of the classification system I described above.  More than fifty years ago, American rock climbers felt the need to subdivide the Class V category.  They did so by adding the decimal point and the numerals 0 to 9.  In those days, 5.0 was used to describe an easy free climb and 5.9 was used to describe a free climb (climber uses natural holds and his or her own muscles to gain height) of ultimate difficulty.  Problems arose in the late 1960s when climbs demonstrably harder than 5.9 were put up.  The system took a leap into illogic by continuing to add numerals.  5.10 was briefly the ultimate.  The standards of difficulty went inevitably up.  I've heard rumors of 5.15 lately. Also, just to complicate matters, all the grades above 5.10 are also subdivided by using the small case letters a, b , c, and d.  5.11a is quite a bit easier than 5.11d, or so I've been told.
I need to mention that the higher grades require a climber to train and starve constantly.  It also helps to be sixteen or seventeen and fearlessly ambitious.  I'm fifty-nine and enjoy a beer or two after every climb.  My days of doing desperate climbs are definitely over.  

I'd like to mention a grade system (not to be confused with the classes above!) used to determine overall difficulty and length of rock climbs.  It also utilizes Roman numerals, so confusion is possible.  
Grade I ?a climb can be completed in an hour or two.
Grade II ?a climb make take several hours or half a day to complete.
Grade III ?a climb may require most of a day to complete.
Grade IV ?a climb will definitely require a whole day to complete.  Any delay may cause a bivouac.
Grade V ?a climb will require two days to complete.  Climbers should plan to sleep on the route.
Grade VI ?multiple days and nights will be required to complete a route. Climbers must plan accordingly.

The two systems together yield a two dimensional description of the climb.  For example, Snake Dike on Half Dome is a grade III, 5.7. Both its length and most difficult moves are described.  

If you're pondering ascents in the Sierras, I recommend that you acquire R.J. Secor's The High Sierra, Peaks, Passes, and Trails.  This book will give you an overview.  Several excellent smaller guides about specific mountains or outstanding routes have also come out recently.  Check out the shelf of guide books at REI.  

Climb high -- Bob

Follow Up Question.

Bob,
Thank you for the thoughtful and thorough response.  We have been backpacking and bouldering in the Sierras for the past 22 years.  We have hiked the Agnew Meadows area a few times and always looked at Mt. Ritter, and thought it was impossible to do without extensive climbing gear.  Last year we went up to the base of Banner and Ritter from the west side.  I then came home and read Alan Ritter's story and realized we can get to the summit with some class 3 climbing.  Have you ever climbed Mt. Ritter, and if you have could you give me a class and a grade of the route you took?

Thank you,
Greg

Answer
Dear Greg,

The short answer to your question is that I have not climbed Ritter.  I tried once in 1983 and once in 1985.  In 1983 my partner and I camped at Thousand Island Lake in early August.  We were warned by the Forest Service that exceptionally bad weather, in the form of a Mexican hurricane, was headed our way.  We intended to zip up both Banner and Ritter and get out fast, if necessary, in the rain.  
We traversed the north slopes of Banner Peak and arrived at the Banner/Ritter saddle about ten minutes before the storm hit.  We saw a vividly purple storm cell sprouting lightning coming from the SE.  We shook hands, turned and ran as fast as we could across the snow slopes for shelter.  We didn't make it.  Wild winds and semi-frozen rain battered us for an hour or so as sat dejectedly on our packs hoping that lightning wouldn't zap us.  We put our axes and crampons about fifty yards away, just to be on the safer side.  The weather let up briefly and we got back to our tent.  There we huddled for the next twenty hours or so.
In 1985 we went back in June.  This time we went in from Ediza Lake.  We climbed great snow on a perfect day up to the saddle and went up Banner.  My friend started feeling altitude sick, so we scrubbed Ritter.  Sadly, I haven't been back to that area since, except for a couple of day hikes with my kids.  
My partner and I wanted to climb the classic John Muir route.  The West Slope route up Ritter is class II and must be the one you're considering.  It's well described in the Secor book I mentioned.  Steve Roper says the route is 搑elatively inaccessible?  I've known Roper for quite awhile and I translate his use of 搃naccessible?to mean arduous.  The main two difficulties would be acclimatization and route-finding, assuming you decide not to mess with hurricanes.  As far as route-finding is concerned, I always take some yellow or orange nylon webbing with me when I venture into the high mountains.  If I reach a crucial turn or the top of an important gully, I'll leave a piece of webbing looped around a rock or knotted in a crack.  These are easily retrieved on the descent and help prevent fatigue-induced mistakes.  I  also check periodically to make sure I can see any markers I leave.  Here is a website which has trip reports: http://www.climber.org/ Some of these might offer useful information.
Have a great time and let me know how your summit is.  My youngest son just got out of college and wants to climb Ritter, too.  I may see you out there next summer.  

Yours,   
     Bob Walton