Most people will start out on the easier climbs. You have my utter respect if you’re happily cranking your way up a 4 or perhaps even fumbling your way to the top of a 4+ on your first few trips to the wall! Routes of this grade tend to have nice big, chunky holds that are easy to grab onto. They also tend to be on nothing steeper than a vertical wall, meaning that they don’t rely quite so much on upper body strength.
5+ is where it starts to get interesting. They come in all angles and styles. Some require you to have a bit of finger strength whereas others you need body strength for. You might find that you suddenly have to have the flexibility of a gymnast or the problem solving skills of Turing. Hell, you could even find yourself with your feet above your head or be jumping from one hold to the next. That’s what makes 5+s so much fun!
That’s also why taking that next step up to 6a is a really big deal.
When you start hitting up the 6as then you’ll start to find routes which combine a number of different styles. At 5+ you can still get away with sticking to routes that “suit” you. There will still be some 6as that suit you better than others, of course. But this is kind of where you become a proper climber. All those skills that you’ve learnt along the way are brought together, opening up a whole new grade for you to start working and enjoying with your well-earned climbing prowess.
And doing a Craggy 6a – well, that’s really something to be proud of!