tholub said:*I think it's an interesting idea; think of it like rock climbing,
where the community has agreed on a rating system that is actually
quite useful in letting climbers know what walls they should be
targeting.
Now, MUni doesn't have the same risks as climbing, and my view is that
you won't get better at MUni unless you tackle things which are too
hard for you. There is also quite a bit more variability in the
terrain; there are some trails which are mostly easy to moderate but
with one or two sections with log stairs or other fairly advanced
technical features. Or look at something like the Slickrock Trail,
which is totally different depending on the line you take. So it's a
tough problem, but I applaud the effort. *
This issue partly came up because in a few short months the Santa
Barbara Unicycle Club will be hosting the next California Muni Weekend
and orgainzer Eyal H. was struggling with what trails to orgainze as
group rides and what trails to not even mention-- fearing that if
someone who spent time and money just wanting a great time, and was
somehow directed to Tunnel or Saddle Rock, bad things might happen. If
there was some kind of standardized rating system, and the trails each
had a rating (by concensus), then folks could judge for themselves what
was appropriate. As is, it's all just word of mouth. Simply put, word
of mouth, or a vague, three-tiered rating system is the best way for
folks to get sandbagged. I did.
On my first trip to SB my Muni experience consisted of a few weeks of
riding up and down groomed fire roads. Suddenly I found myself trying
to negotiate steep switchbacks, narrow, angled U turns over shale and
boulders with 200 foot cliff plunges on the downhill side and I feared
for my fricking life. Eyal was just starting to get really good and he
flew off one turn and only posponed his own funeral by grabbing the
shank end of a flexing sappling as his Muni freefell to the next
switchback far below. A couple weekends later, on another trail, a guy
busted his lower leg in two. Fact is, you can get really worked on grim
Muni tracks, even if you're a total expert.
I think a rating system of some sort could work just as it works in rock
climbing. The rating is arrived at through concensus and over time the
various grades get standardized. There's an enormous range of terrain
and techniques encountered in climbing, from slab climbs to steep face
stuff to cracks of every size, all on rock that varies a whole lot from
area to area. But the rating system does work and gives climbers a
benchmark to work off and dream grades to work towards.
There's probably no more than two or three hundred Americans really
going after hard Muni, but as the sport catches on, a rating system of
some sort will surely evolve. In climbing, a rating tends to build a
mystique around a given route, and in that way, this or that climb gets
a legendary reputation. And that makes the game all the more
interesting.
Just a few rambling thoughts . . .
JL
--
vivalargo - Santa Barbara Unicycle Club
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