I have been advancing in my climbing and I am super psyched about it. Most recently, I beta flashed my first 10c! It was so exciting to do the route and it was actually one that Tom completed earlier that day after falling off a few times. I was able to use my small hands and fingers to my advantage as I was able to get a good grip on some rather tiny holds. It was a really good feeling. =)
Otherwise, I'm climbing 10a consistently, so I would say that I could lead 10a. I've climbed a few 10b's, but most of them still give me a bit of trouble.
Today, I went to the IMA at UW for the first time to climb there. They have a big room with lots of bouldering and a few top roping routes that range from 5.6 - 5.12+. I was a bit disappointed with the rating system, though. The culture at UW seems largely skewed towards bouldering and all the routes were much harder than advertised. There were a few V0's that I had a rough time with and several V1's that I couldn't even finish. Everyone there agreed that the routes were "stiff" but that they liked it because when they go to other gyms, they feel like a champ. I can't say that I agree.
I did a 5.7, 5.8, and 5.9 just to see how the difficulty ratings stacked up. I don't think they were rated terribly well, but they were alright. (I should also note that the IMA Crags do not rate 10s. 11s, and 12s using letters! It's definitely a "fun" mystery to find out whether you're climbing a 10a or a 10d.) The biggest change for me was that the walls are a towering 40 feet tall!! I honestly thought the walls I normally climbed on at VW were about that height, but now I would say that they are about 30 feet tall. It definitely psyched me out on my first couple climbs, especially because I was on ATC with a new belay partner. But I quickly got used to it, and I think it's good for me to adjust to higher heights.
It was an interesting experience overall, and I will continue to climb there and get a feel for the community. I even got to feel like a badass today when I explained how hangboards work to a non-climber who asked me. (Because climbing makes you absurdly badass.)
(Side note: Up until today, I thought I had heard that you should be able to climb 5.11's before learning to lead climb. But I'm beginning to get the idea that you can do it much sooner than that, and I am definitely anxious to get outside. In fact, at the IMA, I was told that you should be able to climb a 5.8 to lead climb, but I'm not totally convinced. Time for research and I'll let you know!)
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