Climbing ratings have suffered grade inflation just as our public school system. Many of the classic traditional 5.9 climbs are now rated higher.

Be leery of 5.9's put up in the era when 5.10 was the limit. Until it was acceptable to "break the limit" everything "hard" was rated 5.9!

Gear as much as climbing skill have allowed us to climb harder stuff. Every try to pound in a piton on a 5.9 hanging by your fingernail? And if you could even get it in without falling off, when you actually did fall off higher up, you could never be sure it would hold. The old truism was the "leader never falls".