Talk:Yosemite Decimal System

Question
What is the source for this set of descriptions? My Freedom of the Hills says class 2 is "off-trail scrambling", and class 3 is "climbing; rope for beginners". If it's from the original 1930s description and not current, we don't really want that, it will be misleading. Stan 12:36, 4 Oct 2003 (UTC)


 * See for some of the differing definitions of YDS classes. How to resolve? -- hike395 02:37, 8 Oct 2003 (UTC)


 * I'm biased in favor of Freedom of the Hills - people in the Seattle Mountaineers had a pretty strongly-developed sense of class 1/2/3+, and different courses and trips for each. But of course in good wikipedia style we should report all the POVs for this moderately messy topic, not try to bless any particular one. It would be cool to have photos illustrating levels of difficulty - I have a few that could be maybe be pressed into service here. Stan 02:48, 8 Oct 2003 (UTC)


 * I agree: Freedom of the Hills is the canonical source for climbing. -- hike395

Would a link to Yosemite National Park be appropriate? How was the YDS named?

Merge w/ Climbing Grade
How much sense does it make that the subsection on the Yosemite Decimal Section in the article Grade (climbing) is longer, and much more descriptive, than the article itself? Would it be acceptable to change this? Sloverlord 23:47, 20 September 2006 (UTC)


 * I agree the current situation doesn't make much sense, but since Grade (climbing) is getting rather long, instead of merging this article there, it may make sense to move information from that section here, and leave a smaller paragraph or two in the main article with a link here for details. --Delirium 18:44, 3 June 2007 (UTC)


 * No merge: I agree with Delirium: leave a summary over at Grade (climbing), make this one be the main article. hike395 18:56, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Three parts?
to quote Grade_(climbing), "A YDS rating consists of 3 parts: the Grade, the Class, and the protection rating. The Grade and protection rating are optional, and usage varies widely."

This information needs to be included in this article somehow, but since I don't know anything about this, I'd rather it was done by some wiser head. Anniepoo (talk) 04:42, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Merge
I merged the YDS section from Grade (climbing) into this article. Now the section in Grade (climbing) should probably be edited. Be careful with the words "grade" and "rating" in this article as they have special meanings. I probably missed a few myself. --DRoll (talk) 07:49, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

Canadian guidebooks seem to be leaning toward Alps Grading system

 * Lead says YDS is used in Canada. Latest mountaineering guidebooks there are definitely using French system for alpine ratings.
 * I haven't read much in way of pure rock climbing guidebooks for Canada.


 * Canadians do definitely use and understand YDS for rock.

Calamitybrook (talk) 01:09, 12 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Since you say that Canadian mountaineers use and understand the YDS I think we can leave the lead alone for now. Thanks.&ensp;– droll  &#91;chat&#93;  05:08, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

Tahquitz Decimal System?
Randy Vogel - Rock Climbing Joshua Tree says "... the Tahquitz Decimal System, also known erroneously as the Yosemite Decimal System". o_O It's from 1992. — Omegatron (talk) 03:44, 8 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Vogel is right about the history, but nobody actually calls it that.--Fashionslide (talk) 21:46, 12 November 2021 (UTC)

"Exposure"?
The word "exposure" is used several times, with no explanation. Can someone address that, please? MrRedwood (talk) 07:17, 5 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Done.--Fashionslide (talk) 21:46, 12 November 2021 (UTC)

Edited definitions of classes 1-5
Extremely silly language seems to have crept into the definitions of classes 1 through 5. I've edited these to revert them to something based closely on Freedom of the Hills, which is a pretty standard book. In the text before this edit, there was extremely bizarre language and unsourced claims such as a suggestion that one can use a rope for class 2, or that the distinction between classes 4 and 5 has something to do with natural pro versus gear.--Fashionslide (talk) 19:00, 11 November 2021 (UTC)

Merge with Grade (climbing)
This question has been asked before, but should this be merged with Grade (climbing), an article that I have extensively overhauled? There is a lot of poor and unreferenced content in this article, and I think that it is better as part of a main article on grading that is properly maintained. Aszx5000 (talk) 12:50, 17 September 2023 (UTC)


 * I have merged all of the useable and referenced/supported text into Grade (climbing). Will redirect this to that section at this stage. Aszx5000 (talk) 19:42, 1 October 2023 (UTC)