Redpoint Climbing Centre

Don't let the knitting circle on UKC get you down!
The quality of the routes is Redpoint's u.s.p. All of the routes I've climbed so far have been fun. One or two have been excellent.
Don't change the grades. Better to have them weighted in the 'hard for the grade' dirrection than make it too easy. 6a is feckin' hard outside! I've never climbed harder than 5b trad, never tried sport. Keep up the good work, and keep setting thoughtful, interesting routes.

Very impressed with my visit last week and I will be back this week! A lot of thought has clearly gone into route-setting to complement the overall excellent “feel” of the centre. I found the routes I tackled to be of around the grade I would have expected for the complexity. Thanks and well done. As a general guide I think it is helpful for leading if there is a balance of good routes starting at the low end (I would start at 5 or even 4+) and working through to the harder grades. Perhaps have a set “house” percentage of routes in grades spread across the overall number of routes at the wall. I think too many walls have fallen into the trap of starting lead routes at 6a which means those who wish to cut their teeth at indoor leading end up blocking routes through slow progress.

i think although its smaller than creation, the routes are more interesting as they go all over the wall - but this does make it feel cramped as you can be climbing so close to other people
routes are also harder than creation+i agree that there should be more easier leads

The routes are excellent, it is so nice to do a route which isn't straight up a flat and featureless wall. I would have said that the routes are actually easier than i expected, but i am in no way a grade expert!
Keep up the excellent work route setting, and don't change the routes from going all over the place! It adds far more realism to the climb!

I suspect that it was a thread I started on UKC which prompted this. For the record, my only real comments in relation to grades was that they were a bit on the stiff side, in particular the 5's and that this meant there were few truly easy routes. At the time I posted that, I didn't realise aretes etc were "in". This would indeed have made a difference to quite a few routes. I still stand by my comments re the 5's (and relative lack of easy routes) and I think this is backed up to an extent by one or two other comments here. Anyway, congratulations on what is certainly a great wall with bags of character.

It's great to get feedback from different climbers, tall short, strong, footwork deviants etc. It's the best way to keep the grades as close as we can to the original sport grading system used worldwide. Sometimes one climbers grading of a route may vary to the next, so we do listen to all comments in order to get the grade as accurate as possible. I tend to grade my own routes in comparison to routes I have climbed outdoors so they may seem different compared to routes at other climbing walls. Really glad you like the wall and thanks again for the feedback

Glad you like the wall. The article on grades was intended to go on the site anyway, but thanks for kick-starting the lively debate on UKC, which was great spectator sport!

Incidentally, I just did a quick count here and we have about 170 graded routes up at the moment, 57 of which are 5 or below.

I was up on Sunday and personally found the 5's all delightful some I felt were easy for the grade. The 6a+’s however were a bit much for me at the moment!!

The Redpoint is an awesome wall for the size, the variety of routes packed in and I look forward to spending many hours in its comfortable bosom. It feels like the Foundry in Sheffield a place I loved to while away the hours.

Good job by all concerned, fair and honest grading from what I have climbed so far.

These were all top roped routes!

I was personally pleased by the ABUNDANCE of easier routes!! For a change, I had a real range of routes to choose from, especially seeing as most routes were set up for leading AS WELL AS top roping (unlike most other walls that I have been to!)

Routes started at 2!!!! with plenty of 3s, 4s, 5s. Most climbing walls have maybe 1 or 2 5s at most for leading... How much easier do they have to be?

Spent a good couple of hours doing a few of the 5 and 6a top roped climbs yesterday. Seem to be alot of choice although I'm at the stage where 5 is too easy and 6a is pushing it a bit. A few of the 5s seemed harder than the 6a ones but as stated it may have been the route I took. A few of the climbs really made you think, which is an enjoyable challenge even if you're half way up the wall when you realise.
I think the walls are more interesting than those are Creation but that might just be because the whole place is new to me.

I found a soft touch, happy now ;)

Seriously, really enjoyed my last visit and the variety of climbing. Tweaked a finger though :(