I don't know the answer but I have seen a "5.12 sport climber" reduced to crying on a "5.9 trad" climb. I have also seen a "5.13 sport climber" not able to get up a "5.10 offwidth" on toprope. I have also seen a boulderer onsite flash 5.13 sport for their first ever sport climb. It gets twisted.
and um tradmike, surely you have seen the supposed 5.9 trad leader get his ass kicked on a 5.8 sport line...or "take" 3 bolts into a route that overhangs even a bit....surely....or are traddies just so badass that they crank no matter what...
I've seen many traddies in the Red get freaked on sport lines because they are faced with the choice to accept a runout with hard moves or bail. Ain't no crack to place the cushy gear in.
Yo Ray jack dynomite! Listen to my beat box! Bew ch ch pff BEW ch ch pfff! Sweet!
I said it gets twisted. I didn't mean all trad climber are bad ass. Those are only examples that I have seen. Yes, I have seen trad climbers get shut down on sport routes as well. What about the super runout 5.7s that are basically solos? Very few people can climb those. So, are most climbers only 5.6 climbers? Or, since a lot of people can onsite toprope 5.12 are a lot of people 5.12 climbers? That's a huge range to be called a 5.x climber. Basically, you have to be well rounded in every aspect to be called a 5.x climber.
