Sarah Palin rock climbing on Denali: how difficult was it?
No, Sarah Palin didn't climb Denali or anything close to it. However, on the first edition of "Sarah Palin's Alaska" she did climb some relatively insignificant feature in Denali National Park at the quite low elevation of 5000 feet. That also followed the former vice presidential candidate - roped together with Todd and her guide - stepping over a few crevasses in a glacier.
The rock climbing part looks to my not-so-expert eye to be fairly easy 4th class or 5.1 at the most. She was also clinging to the rope for dear life at the end. The Discovery Channel/TLC describes this as "Sarah and Todd climb one of Denali's most challenging peaks." While all rock climbing is challenging and to be commended and encouraged, calling what she climbed a "challenging peak" appears to be a bit of a stretch. Especially since - unlike virtually everyone else who does rock climbing or mountaineering - she was in almost no danger except perhaps from being caught in an avalanche of stylists, cameramen, and second assistant directors.
If you're a climber, based on either the video clip or on watching the episode on TV, what do you think the rock climbing grade was?