Fun discussion!
To disclose my own priors, I'm always happy to yap about grades i.e. " felt hard for 5.whatever" - but I generally avoid actually re-grading (up or down) unless it feels really out-of-whack with an area.
Pitch 1. Tricky and insecure for 5.8, but could plausibly be 5.8, so I wouldn't suggest modifying the grade.
If you look at the adjectives that everyone uses to describe it, I think we are all saying the same thing:
- Among Ricky's comment on MP is the following statement: "It isn't that powerful, but parts are thin and insecure"
- Mudworm comments down thread: "I was glad to be wearing my precision face climbing shoes on the lower part of p1."
My own experience (following) was the same. The climbing felt insecure, because in places the options for hands were poor and the climbing is ALL feet, sometimes on holds that do not inspire tremendous confidence (mostly referring to friction here rather than rock quality). That said, the feet all held and the pitch is fairly low angle so support from hands isn't really needed.
I imagine the experience of leading it would feel quite different, especially pre-bolt replacement.
Pitch 3. After all the careful climbing below, this section feels like quite a relief.
P3 is steeper than P1 ... but there are freaking jugs (hands and feet) everywhere. I should say, the "10a" section has that weird flakey exoskeleton sometimes encountered at Pinnacles. But, even avoiding all the holds of this nature there were plenty of good options.
Comparing the P1 and P3 is hard. It is like comparing Walk on the Wild Side (5.8 in JT) to Gem (5.8 in JT).
But, P3 isn't nearly as demanding as other Pinnacles 10a (i.e. Terranean Tango, Stupendous Man, Dances with Warthogs) or 5.9s (Little Javelina, Jorgie's Crack, Wet Kiss). So a downward revision may be appropriate.
