Understanding Climbing Grades

Let's talk about climbing grades. They're the way climbers objectively measure the difficulty of different climbs. But here's the twist-they're also subjective. How can something be both objective and subjective? It's a bit of a paradox, but we'll unravel it.

Yes, we know the definitions of subjective and objective. No, we're not trying to seem all intellectual (okay, maybe a little bit). However, to understand climbing grades, you must acknowledge that they can be both. Climbing grades are a standardized method of tracking an individual's progress and denoting the difficulty of a climb. For example, if you climb V4 (more on what this notation means in a minute) at your home gym, you can expect that if you visit other gyms, you can climb boulders up to and at that difficulty. Generally, that is an accurate expectation.

However, who decides the grade of a climb? It's not a machine or a computer algorithm. It's people. Despite their best efforts, they impose subjectivity on climbing grades. In a rock gym, the setters pick the grade of a climb. Outside, it's whoever established the route or claimed the first ascent. This means that you also have a say in the grading process as a climber. Your strengths and weaknesses can influence how a climb is graded, making you an influential part of the climbing community.

Due to their subjective nature, climbing grades are not the be-all and end-all of success in the sport. However, their ability to standardize discussions of difficulty and aid in selecting climbs to attempt makes it worthwhile to take a deeper dive into understanding the technical jargon of climbing grades.

Grading scales vary depending on the part of the world and the discipline of rock climbing. The most popular grading scales are the U.S. and French systems, which will be the focus of the remainder of this article. The U.K. and Australia also have rating systems, but they are less recognized. More technical climbing styles, like ice or mixed climbing, also have separate rating systems. This global recognition of climbing grades makes you part of a larger community of climbers.

Breaking down The U.S. and French Climbing Grade Systems

The U.S.

The U.S. has two separate rating systems: one for boulder and one for rope, or sport, climbing.

● Boulder: Vernin (V) Scale

The V-scale was invented in the 1980s by John Sherman, nicknamed “Vermin,” hence the V. The lower bound of the scale is V0, and the current upper bound is V17. We use the term 'current upper bound' because elite outdoor climbers continue to establish and send increasingly difficult climbs. Most climbing gyms offer a range of V0 to V10/V11. The boulder is theoretically more challenging each time you increase the number after the V.

● Sport: Yosemite Decimal System (YDS)

The climbing community uses the fifth-class YDS system. The basic YDS system scales 1-5, where a 1-rated path is equivalent to walking up a hill on an established path and increasing to the 5 class where you must climb. The fifth class breaks climbs down into sub-classes ranging from 5.0 to 5.15. However, 5.0 to 5.4 are generally scrambling. In a U.S. climbing gym, you'll likely see grades 5.5 - 5.13, with 5.14 and 5.15 only found outdoors.

Once you reach 5.10, there are further sub-classes: a,b,c,d. Jumps in physical difficulty between 5.10 and 5.11, and so on, are more intense than those of lower grades, so the additional classifications help bridge the gap. Indoors, gyms may opt for a +/- system instead of the traditional a,b,c,d, but the idea is the same.

Another popular climbing discipline is traditional (trad) climbing. In the U.S., these climbs also use the YDS system but are assigned an additional split of PG, PG-13, R, or X. Trad requires the climber to place their safety gear, and the additional annotation allows for communication of the risk level associated with gear placement on the route. PG indicates good protection, PG-13 indicates some risk, R indicates high risk, and X indicates almost no protection and the potential for serious injury from falls.

French

The French originated two grading systems: Font and French. The Font system stems from Fontainbleu, a world-famous bouldering location, and is a boulder grading system. The French system applies to sport climbing and bolted routes.

● Boulder: Font

The Font grades are the most globally recognized bouldering grades. The U.S. is the only location reliant on the V-Scale. Under the Font system, boulders are assigned a number from 3 to 9, with 3 being the easiest and 9 the hardest. A letter class then splits the number classes. Boulders can receive an A, B, or C to denote lower/higher difficulties. The third and final split is a “+” annotation.

● Sport: French

The French scale is similar to the Font scale. Most of Europe and parts of Asia rely on this system when grading bolted routes, especially outdoors. Each route will have a number between 3 and 9 at the front of the grade. Following the number is a letter split.

Unlike the YDS, where letter grades range from a-d, the French scale only uses a-c. Like the Font bouldering scale, the French system splits grades using "+" annotation.

It's challenging to accurately compare boulder grades to sport climbing grades as the style of climbing differs significantly. For example, a 5.10a/6a may have a V3/6A boulder problem in the middle, but the rest is V0/4 climbing. It all may be confusing at first, so to help you wrap your brain around the grading systems and how they compare, check out the tables below. Screenshot them to have a cheat sheet on your phone the next time you need to translate between or explain rock climbing grades!

Climbing Type	U.S. System	French System
Bouldering	V0 to V17 (V-scale)	3 to 9 (Font scale)
Sport Climbing	5.0 to 5.15 (YDS)	3 to 9 (French scale)
Sub-grades (Bouldering)	N/A	A, B, C, +
Sub-grades (Sport)	5.10a, 5.10b, 5.10c, 5.10d, etc.	A, B, C, +
Traditional (Trad) Climbing	YDS with PG, PG-13, R, X	N/A

Vermin Scale	Font
V0	4
V1	5
V2	5+
V3	6A, 6A+
V4	6B, 6B+
V5	6C, 6C+
V6	6C+, 7A
V7	7A+
V8	7B, 7B+
V9	7C
V10	7C+
V11	8A
V12	8A+
V13	8B
V14	8B+
V15	8C
V16	8C+
V17	9A

YDS	French
5.4	3
5.5	4
5.6	4
5.7	5a
5.8	5b
5.9	5c
5.10a	6a
5.10b	6a+
5.10c	6b
5.10d	6b+
5.11a	6c
5.11b	6c+
5.11c	6c+, 7a
5.11d	7a
5.12a	7a+
5.12b	7b
5.12c	7b+
5.12d	7c
5.13a	7c+
5.13b	8a
5.13c	8a+
5.13d	8b
5.14a	8b+
5.14b	8c
5.14c	8c
5.14d	9a
5.15a	9a+
5.15b	9b
5.15c	9b+