All ratings are subjective, which is why I trust a consensus based on ascents by numerous climbers over years to be much more accurate than a grade assigned by how hard a single route-setter thinks a problem is. The subjective nature of the rating is somewhat mitigated by the consensus. EG, tall climbers find a reachy problem much easier than short climbers, but the consensus ends up being somewhere in the middle. Climbers obviously find some value in this, otherwise why even bother to have ratings at all?

And perhaps I am biased, but I strongly believe: If you have not yet climbed that grade on real rock, you have not yet climbed that grade.

Not that it matters, in the grand scheme of things. Nobody really gives a shit what grade you climb, or I climb, or anyone climbs.

Back to the OP: plateaus are quite common. Find out what weakness you have that is holding you back, and work to overcome that.

The consensus does make ratings reliable, but it does not change the fact that they're not subjective. If you ask 100 people if they like hot dogs, and they all say yes, does that mean it is not subjective? Of course not. Same goes for grades. Adding more people's opinions does not make something less subjective, even though it does make it more reliable.

The consensus does make ratings reliable, but it does not change the fact that they're not subjective. If you ask 100 people if they like hot dogs, and they all say yes, does that mean it is not subjective? Of course not. Same goes for grades. Adding more people's opinions does not make something less subjective, even though it does make it more reliable.

Furthermore, except at major bouldering destinations, you can you almost be guaranteed that any legitimate gym is going to see more ascents on a given climb (at least ascensionists adding their opinion to the consensus), except perhaps the hardest problems in the gym.

Furthermore, except at major bouldering destinations,

How are you defining "subjective"?

Jay

pertaining to or characteristic of an individual; personal; individual.

Funny looking back on this three years later and wondering what the fuck I was talking about. I believe when I posted this I was climbing that hard in the gym (on crimp problems of all the same style), most of the 5, 6's and 7's I had done were put up by a V11/12 Hueco Tanks local named Travis Vincent who likely couldn't tell the difference between a V4 and V8, to him it was just Veasy.
None of these problems I had done were outside. Fast forward 3 years. I've sent a few outdoor V5's at local area's but most of the bouldering I've done has been at Hueco Tanks. To date I've done 3 V6's and 1 V7 (which I think needs to be downgraded to V6) outside. According to my original post it would seem like I've gotten worse (though in reality I've gotten much better I was just too much of a noob back then to realize that gym grades don't mean anything). Granted I spend most of my climbing time sport climbing these days and not bouldering I still don't think I've ever pulled a V8 move (whether on a boulder or a route) in my life. If I could answer my original questions I would say "Start bouldering outside. Get a tick list, when you've flashed 5 of the last 7 outdoor V5's you've gotten on you can say you "consistently flash V5" same goes for the V6's, how many have you sent outdoors? What different styles? What about V7? Confirm where you at with outdoor boulders. Secondly, a lot of people can rush through boulder grades in the first year and get past V5, most people don't get very far past though, but your progress will slow down. This doesn't mean you're getting worse, just that bouldering is not a linear progression. V6 isn't x points of difficulty more than V5 which is x points of difficulty more than a V4. Have fun with your climbing, push yourself as hard as you can, don't worry about the numbers. You might find that you'll be stuck for 3 years at V5 even though you've certainly gotten stronger, or you could have a year where you jump up from V6 to V8, in the end the grades don't mean that much, you know how hard you climb, you know how much you've progressed compared to where you were. That's the only scale that matters.

Yes, but with nobody to spot you, be sure to wear a helment.

Curt