Sustained, strenuous sections of vertical ice. Ice quality is usually good. The ice may be delicate or of poorer quality. Protection is difficult. Sustained vertical ice which may be thin, detached, or rotten.
Protection is difficult or nonexistent.
Often found in conjunction with technical ratings, the alpine grade considers all the technical and objective difficulties of a mountain route, and distills them into an estimate of how long a competent party will take to complete the route. Two or more days, several bivouacs required. Alaska Grading System. Because of Alaska's severe storms, cold, altitude, and extensive cornices, a unique grading system for the state's climbs was proposed in 1966 by Boyd Everett. In the Alaska system, each ascending grade incorporates all the elements of the grades that precede it.