Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board class 1,2,3,4,5?

Would someone be so kind as to explain the different classes of terrain for hiking/mountaineering? I've been an avid hiker for about 15 years and in many outings I've had to climb or scamper using all my limbs up some steep but not vertical stuff. I plan to climb Muir in mid July and I'm somewhat concerned about the class 4 section towards the very top. I've been up the MR last year and seen the class 3 chute above the notch. It looks similar to stuff that I've been on. How different or much worse is class 4. I appreciate any usefull data. Kindly refrain from sarcasm.

Rafael

Five classes of climbing difficulty
The Yosemite Decimal System consists of five general classes, the fifth being subdivided with a decimal notation, but it is generally accepted that some ratings are too high or too low because people want to brag or because the standards among climbers has changed over time, and many people have editorial comments about the YDS.

http://www.climber.org/Resource/decimal.html#basic

class 1 (used for some peaks that do NOT have trails)
• hiking on trail
• bikepath
• walking, preferably uphill
• walking along a clear, well established trail (sidewalk)
class 2
• cross country, requiring route finding skills
• cross-country, using hands for balance
• hiking trail (goes with class 1 is a bike path)
• difficult cross-country travel (thick brush, climbing over and around fallen trees, and big talus - hands are used for balance)
• the trail is either non-existant or very uneven or intermittent and you may need to put your hand down once in a while for balance
class 3
• scrambling on rocks using hands as well as feet
• requires use of hands for climbing, rope may be used
• I need my hands but might survive a fall
• hands? Maybe. (goes with class 1 is a bike path)
• rope is necessary only to provide comfort
• MUST use your hands for progress but don't need to search for holds nor do you need Real Rock Climbing(TM) techniques
class 4
• climbing on steep terrain requiring roped belay
• I would die if I fell
• hands? Yes! (goes with class 1 is a bike path)
• exposed climbing such as a ladder going up the side of a water tank (belays should be used)
• use a rope, but don't place protection
• rope required to prevent serious injury if a fall occurs
• why don't we just ditch Class 4 and call everything 5.0 that used to be Class 4!
• you are leading along and it is not too hard and when you get to the end of the lead you notice that you haven't felt motivated to place any protection
class 5
• climbing involving technical moves and protective hardware in case of a fall
• safety rope (goes with class 1 is a bike path)
• thin, exposed climbing, requiring skill (the holds are not obvious to a novice - this is where weird moves such as laybacks, underclings, and evangelical hammerlocks come into play_
• leader places protection along the way
• Real Rock Climbing(TM) where most people will use a rope (but where some very experienced people won't feel the need) and where serious injury or death is very likely if you take an unprotected fall
class 6 (not actually part of the YDS)
• the rope bears the climber's weight on purpose
• rope ladder (goes with class 1 is a bike path)
• use equipment for aid

The last section of the MR is mostly class two with a little bit of class three.

When we climbed Mt. Muir we had read all that stuff about it being difficult class three to easy class 4. It made us a little nervous. It turns out the climbing section is only about 70 feet long and doesn't take much time.

Taking along these pictures and staying on route will really help.

http://members16.clubphoto.com/steve744076/1607612/guest.phtml

I would say it is definately class three with some exposure.

Thank you for posting this! What is confusing me about these ratings is, that I will read someone's trip report of some peak they climbed with full detail descriptions, saying it was for example a class 2..then I go read in RJ Secor's book, and he is saying it is a class 3?
I guess what some people think a class 3 is may only be a class 2 to other people, depending on there comfort level and experience? And some might rate what is a class 2 a class 3, if they have not done much hiking.
If you have a section to climb that is using your hands and arms to lift yourself up on the next boulder..but is not a super steep section and each side of you is not exposed...would some of you call that a class 3? I have always wondered about that, or would it be called an easy class 3?
I always thought of a class 3 as boulder hopping or scrambling where going up I would have to use my arms to maybe pull myself up to the next boulder, and going down I would maybe have to sit on my butt on a boulder and dangly my legs over to reach the next boulder, is this what some would consider a class 3?

I am thinking of doing the MR in summer with a few friends who have already done it. How much of the MR is Class 3?

madeintahoe, there will always be a problem with translating guidebooks/personal descriptions, into what you see on the ground. If you look at Secor's introductory section on the subject, I think he covers it well.

My quick differentiation of 3rd class, is that you need to use your hands to make progress. If you only place your hands for balance, that's 2.

But many factors change. I've a picture of Royal Robbins from years ago, climbing a 5.1 with no hands. Rocks fall, changing the route. (most commonly), people get off route....ESPECIALLY people with little technical experience.

Personally, I find the distinction between Class 3 and Class 4 a lot fuzzier than among the lower Classes 1/2/3.

The Main Trail is Class 1, with the possible exception of the very top where you have to do some boulder-hopping as the trail isn't really clear for the last 100 yards or so before the summit hut. "Hands in pockets" is another description, which would include off trail in smooth low-angle terrain, like crossing a meadow or walking through open forest.

Off-trail boulder hopping is Class 2, as is most general off-trail bushwhacking. (Just about any boulderfield of less-than-car-sized rocks will be Class 2, since the rocks won't sit on each other at a steep enough angle to qualify for Class 3) You will need a hand for balance, but not for climbing...still moving on two legs. Low-angle snow, up to 45 degrees, is also categorized as Class 2.

Class 3, you actually use your hands for upward motion, not just balance. Depending on the exposure and your level of risk tolerance, you may start to think about wanting to be roped up, especially on steeper bits with lots of vertical exposure. Steeper snow, above 45 degrees, is also Class 3.

Class 4 approaches vertical but still has a good succession of hand and foot holds for all four extremities. Most people will want to be on belay. (The line between 3 and 4 is very fuzzy and depends a lot on the experience, confidence and conservatism of the climber/author.)

Class 5 is vertical rock. Gradations from 5.0 to 5.12 (5.14?) go with decreasing amount/quality of holds. To the non-climber, 5.10 and higher start to approach plate glass. Vertical ice falls into Class 5, as well.

What none of these cover, though, is the fact that getting off-route changes the game...what should have been a Class 2 scramble can quickly become a difficult Class 5 pitch. Knowing (or being able to find) the right route is critical. But that applies to hiking in general. One of my favorite trails here in MO (not known for tall mountains when the highpoint is only 1,772.68') has an easy-to-miss turn just before a band of cliffs. If you take the turn, you walk casually up the hill and along the ridge. If you miss it, you start off on a nice wide ledge that runs out after about 100 yards and leaves you with a fairly difficult 3rd-class climb up a gully or a medium pitch of Class 5 rock if you try to go down.

> How much of the MR is Class 3

Where you need to use your hands... Less than 5%.

Is that 5% of the total elevation gain or distance traveled or amount of time to climb the chute or snapping off photos?

At different times in the past and on different web sites, I've read the Yosemite Decimal System which was reproduced near by the top of this thread by Mark. There's one thing I've never (and still don't) understand. Except for the items under Class 1, there is one item under each of the other classes that always ends with the following identical comment in parentheses: "(goes with Class 1 is a bike path)". How in the world does that repetitious comment have anything to do with describing anything about the other classes? Each time I read these descriptions, I get to that phrase repeated under each of the latter classes, and it's like reading gibberish that doesn't relate to the rest of what's being written there. Any insights? Thanks.

CaT

CaT, I think what Mike was implying was that the entries in each of the higher (2-5) classes with the "goes with bike path" tagline is associated with the same source that lists Class 1 as a "bike path."

Those descriptions are humorous and on the far side of "liberal" in their interpretation of the higher classes. (not in a political sense, but as in "conservative" implying "slightly overstate in the direction of safety")