Discussion around grades can be so polarizing that many of us avoid the topic.

In an ideal world, grades would be objective and we’d have some universal formula for how they’re decided. But we don't live in an ideal world.

Or any grade, for that matter. Boulder or sport.

Objective metrics might not be the best way.

Juliet Hammer is no stranger to crushing double-digit boulders, and unfortunately, to dealing with internet haters, too.

5.15d to 5.15c. Does it even matter?

Improvement comes from challenges, not from the number they are given. If you focus on being challenged and trying hard, then the numbers will follow.

Matt Fultz has a job to do, and he takes it seriously.

Ravioli Biceps is a Moonboard legend: the only person to complete every Benchmark on the 2016 set.

We all create some sort of mythology around certain routes or grades, a mythology that often says, "You don't belong on this route!"

We sit down in Hueco Tanks with bouldering pioneer John Sherman to discuss California Condors, his lengthy list of accomplishments, and his most infamous creation: the V scale.

Nate and I sit down to discuss how we feel about climbing gym grades. Do they matter? Should they be taken seriously?

It's exactly the same amount of challenging for you no matter what number anyone attaches to it.

Often times, the numbers don't quite reflect what I know to be the truth.