European climbing grades The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation certifies this scale as their official grading method. Each grade conveys the difficulty of the route. Learn how bouldering V-scales compare to YDS for route climbing, understand the journey from indoor to outdoor climbing, and explore international grading systems. The de facto Apr 29, 2024 · Learn everything about climbing grades and quickly convert any climbing rating with our free climbing grade conversion chart. May not include an ascent to the summit of a mountain. Find rock climbing routes, photos, and guides for every state, along with experiences and advice from fellow climbers. Mar 28, 2002 · How do the grades over here match up with european ones? One online reference indicates that the routes are classed in terms of how long it would take as opposed to how technically difficult they are, obviously length of time is extremely important also but I wish to get a better idea of what ability level is required for the grades. British (Traditional): this complex system includes two grades: the adjectival grade (overall difficulty) and the technical grade (specific moves' difficulty). Oct 23, 2023 · Discover the intricacies of climbing grades with our comprehensive guide. This section directly tackles a primary concern for many climbers: how YDS, French grades, and UIAA grades stack up against each other in a climbing grade comparison. Curious about what different climbing grades really mean in Western Europe? In this video, we’ll explain everything you need to know about climbing difficulty ratings used across the region. Please keep in mind that this table is only to be used as a guideline International Grade Comparison Chart International rock climbing classification systems are shown in the chart at the right, and below is a comparison of Alpine, Ice, Snow, Aid, and Commitment grading systems. Feb 4, 2015 · I don’t recommend that you blindly trust this table – there can be differences from country to country or even between climbing areas. Reply reply More replies Gultark • Travelled America climbing about a decade ago and at that time US gym grading was noticeably softer than European and European softer than UK (the UK used to have a pretty notorious sandbag ethic as showcased by Hubble and more than likely that monster will bosi put up at badger cove) For "clean aid climbing" (i. org. Read now! Jun 5, 2023 · If you have done any climbing, either in the gym or outside, you will most likely have run into the concept of climbing grades. Mar 17, 2023 · Confusingly though, European sport climbers use the French sport climbing system which, just like Font Bouldering Grades, ranges from 1 – 9 and uses a,b and c as well as ‘+’ to signify a slight increase in difficulty. americanalpineclub. International rock climbing classification systems are shown in the chart at the right, and below is a comparison of Alpine, Ice, Snow, Aid, and Commitment grading systems. Originating in France (funnily enough!), the number refers to the overall difficulty of the line - simply, the higher the number, the harder the route. For example: 6a, 6a+, 6b. We’ve included approximate conversion tables, allowing you to compare across different regions and disciplines. Before we start… Types of Climbing Climbing is a very broad term that includes many types of activities. The best way to approach the conversion is to travel, go climbing and get used to the different grades! Have fun! P. Ratings used internationally today include no less than seven… Nov 19, 2025 · The complete climbers guide to bouldering grades is here! Everything you need to know from history to training tips to send your project! Easily convert climbing grades across systems like YDS, French, UIAA, British, and more. Together with the rock climbing community theCrag has developed and continues to develop a comprehensive and intuitive coverage of grades in the system. While the grading systems vary by region—like the Fontainebleau system in Europe or the V-scale in the U. Amongst many other things, this article describes how theCrag is using and displaying grades, how theCrag assigns grades to routes and ascents, what protection ratings are and how they are applied on theCrag, what grade contexts are, and which grade systems are Quickly convert climbing grades between different systems: French, YDS, UIAA, and more. International Grade Comparison chart. Note: The tool can take a few seconds to appear below. Grades – The grade given to a route is the maximum technical difficulty that you’ll generally find approaching it, climbing it, or descending from it. In conclusion, understanding sport climbing grades is essential for climbers to accurately assess the difficulty level of a route and challenge themselves accordingly. National Climbing Classification System (USA): NCCS grades, often called “commitment grades,” indicate the time investment in a route for an “average” climbing team. The Swiss Alpine Club’s (SAC) scales are the standard for rating the difficulty of high mountain tours, hiking routes, ski tours and snowshoe touring Find out more! Sep 25, 2023 · Climbing is a universal sport, spanning from remote walls in Alaska to the sunny sport climbing routes of Spain. So, what are the mountaineering grading systems? The main mountaineering grading systems including the French Mountaineering Grades (going from F “easy” to ED “Extremely Difficult), the Yosemite Decimal System (going from Class 1 to Class 5 terrain), and the National Climbing Classification System (going from Grade I to Grade VII). Including Grade Wike & Table. Difficulty can increase for a number of reasons - steeper angle, smaller or more spaced out holds. Learn about climbing and bouldering ratings, including how route difficulty is measured and the difference between a rating and a grade. Nov 28, 2022 · Another of the many standout sport climbing destinations in Europe, Siurana offers over 1,750 routes of all grades but is known for technical climbing & tough climbs, with sharp, thin crimps and steep walls, most vertical or slightly overhanging. Read: What Is Non Technical Climbing? Some of the rating systems in this article are used for a specific form of climbing. What's the difference between bouldering grades? The Font Scale, V Scale, what else? We explain everything in our review. Understand the bouldering grade system and how it's used to measure the difficulty of routes, with expert advice on how to use grades to track your progress and set goals. Known for its precision in distinguishing between difficulty levels at the higher grades. This chart is designed to be used with the American Alpine Journal to help decipher the difficulty ratings given to climbs. Aid climbing grades take time to stabilize as successive repeats of aid climbing routes can materially reduce the grade. Convert North American climbing grades to UK and European scales, and compare bouldering V-grades to roped climbs. The difficulties are listed in increasing order of difficulty. I and II: Half a day or less for the technical (5th class) portion of… Read More »Climbing Grade This system also uses sub-grades (a, b, c). The higher the grade, the harder the route is. IMPORTANT – Below is a very rough table and it is impossible to provide an accurate conversion between technical difficulty of the hardest climbing – a sport grade/UIAA/USA grade – and overall difficulty of the full route experience from approach through climbing, conditions and descent – Alpine Grade. Use Rab’s interactive tool to understand global climbing difficulty scales and plan your next route with confidence. Jun 5, 2023 · What Are Bouldering Grades? Similar to any type of climbing, bouldering is graded with a series of numbers and letters. Please visit them on the web at www. In addition, the skill level of the climber has also been included. Climbing grading systems are an integral component of our sport. Both indoor and outdoor bouldering is graded, but you’ll find that outdoor climbing will use either the V-Scale or the Font-Scale, which are the two most common bouldering scales Jun 23, 2024 · Remember that climbing is a journey, and each climb, regardless of the grade, offers an opportunity for growth and improvement. Our secret (or maybe not so secret anymore) tip for While the general information about climbing grades and grade conversion is described in the article Grades and Grade Conversions. The grade also considers how serious the route is, how committing it is and so paints a broad overall picture in terms of the ‘grade’. Apr 10, 2025 · In this feature, we’re going to focus on traditional approaches to rock climbing, bouldering, scrambling and dry tooling, explaining and comparing the different grading systems. Learn your grades and apply them to your climbing and problem setting. g. aid climbing equipment is used but only where the equipment is temporary and not permanently hammered into the rock), the most common system is the C-system (e. Get help comparing bouldering, sport, and trad climbing grades. These grades provide a shared language for climbers, making it easier to compare Lastly, the worst-case scenario of falling from X is death. Please remember that grading a route is very subjective to the location and the person giving the grade. This guide delves deep into the world of rock climbing grades, offering insights into their origins, variations, and how they compare internationally According to two contributors, the european rating system is less useful because it is too subjective and the alaskan rating system is more useful because it is less subjective. Free, fast, and easy-to-use climbing grade converter. But as the popularity of rock climbing burgeons globally, understanding the intricacies of climbing grades has become more confusing. Bouldering grades are a way to measure the difficulty of climbing problems, helping climbers gauge challenges and track progress. Rock climbing grades typically use one of several grading systems, with the most common being the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) in the United States and the French numerical system (French grades) in Europe. on the other hand, i think the french system, which is more holistic, reflects actual climbing performance for a particular bouldering grade better than the US system A direct comparison between the New Zealand (Mt Cook system), French Alpine Grade, UIAA Grade and the Russian Grade. Bouldering grades and bouldering grades conversion charts for the popular V-Scale and Font-Scale bouldering grades. Jan 28, 2022 · Our converter below enables easy climbing grade conversion between the world’s five most popular grading systems for free climbing. Rock climbing: this means using your hands and feet to climb up a vertical rock surface. —all aim to reflect a combination of physical and technical demands. UIAA: this is common in Germany and other central European countries, it ranges from I (easiest) to XII (hardest), using Roman numerals. Coming from our frustrations of always trying to figure out what grading systems are used in which country and what do they mean in your own system, we have created this simple but hopefully helpfull comparison table. UIAA Grade: UIAA is one of the most famous European Climbing Grades, most popularly used by mountaineers from Germany and Italy. Sep 28, 2021 · Mountaineering and climbing grading systems are a great way to determine the relative difficulty of any route or peak. Finer Jun 10, 2024 · Grade Converters Bouldering and Lead Climbing Grade converters and other tools for rock climbers. To help make everything easier, I’ve broken the entire Below you'll find a comprehensive explanation of the different climbing rating systems. Mar 25, 2024 · Learn how to convert climbing grades, common challenges, and resources for accurate conversions. The above appears courtesy of the American Alpine Journal. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned climber, our climbing grade conversion cha Feb 26, 2021 · French sport grades In the UK and most of continental Europe, you’ll find the French scale in climbing walls and outdoor sport. 02. This system also uses sub-grades (a, b, c). French Sport Grades The French grading system, widely used in Europe and internationally for sport climbing, starts at 1 and progresses through numbers with letter subdivisions (a, b, c) and plus signs. Online Conversion Tool for Climbing Grades & Bouldering Grades: Trad Grade, UIAA, French Sport Grade, Boulder Grades, American Scale & many more. Most climbs in the AAJ are described with an alphabet soup of difficulty ratings. In 2016, Alex sent me a link to his page on Bouldering Grades, which he compares with the Yosemite Decimal System and sport climbing. its super confusing because at certain points the french bouldering and climbing grades are similar, but at both ends they diverge pretty significantly. Below you will find a table that compares the different climbing grades across the five most popular systems. C3+). e. Sometimes the conditions and the state of the routes can also influence the grades. S. As such we welcome feedback on grades and new developments in that area. Be sure to look them up before planning an expedition to see if the route is the right fit for your abilities and ambitions. Ice climbing: this .