Climbing rating systems. Yosemite Decimal System, Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme, French, Australian, and British
Rock routes and boulder problems are given grades based on their difficulty; however, grades vary wildly and do not take into consideration your own strengths, weaknesses, and experience. The American grading system includes class one and two for easy and rough walking, third class for scrambling, fourth class for exposed scrambling where you might want a rope, and fifth class for technical climbing. Fifth-class terrain is further divided into the following grades:
Yosemite Decimal System (YDS)
| 5.0–5.4 | easy beginner routes |
| 5.5, 5.6 | routes suitable for beginners |
| 5.7 | a good challenge for an experienced beginner |
| 5.8, 5.9 | intermediate |
| 5.10, 5.11 | advanced |
| 5.12, 5.13 | expert |
| 5.14, 5.15 | world class |
Plus or minus symbols may be added as a suffix to denote if a route is at the high or low end of a grade. For example, 5.7+ is a pretty hard 5.7, nearly as hard as a 5.8-. Starting at the 5.10 level, grades are often further delineated by a, b, c, or d. A 5.10d is at the upper end of the 5.10 grade and is almost as hard as a 5.11a. Some guidebooks and gyms drop off the 5, so a 5.7+ is simply listed as 7+. The grading system is not perfect and climbers often disagree on grades, but in the end it’s what you get out of a route that counts, not the grade.
There is huge difference between leading and top-roping a route, especially in traditional climbing, where leading requires many extra skills. Even though we list 5.6 as a route suitable for beginners, a beginner should not try leading even a 5.4 climb until he or she has had extensive practice moving on rock and using rope protection systems.
An intermediate climber who cruises 5.9 faces may get thrashed on a 5.7 crack, and a 5.11 sport climber may struggle with a 5.8 traditional route because of the extra energy required to set the gear and a lack of confidence in self-placed gear. Conversely, a 5.11 crack climber may struggle on 5.10 face climbs on unfamiliar rock. Grades on crack climbs can be even less reliable because the difficulty of the climb can depend on your hand, finger, and body size.
Rating systems are great tools for choosing appropriate routes to climb but they hold a couple of traps. One is that it may limit your vision of what is possible. You may develop a mental barrier about climbing routes of a certain grade due to self-imposed limitations, not necessarily because you lack the technique or strength to climb that grade. Another trap of the rating system is getting sucked into climbing for numbers, then boasting about climbing five-point-this and five-point-that. Climbing should be about the beauty of the climb, the way it makes you feel, having fun with a group of good friends, and the flush of success, not the competitive number-chasing game that detracts from the purity of climbing. Many times 5.7 climbers have way more fun than 5.12 climbers just because they don’t take themselves and the numbers of the routes they climb so seriously.
Climbing rating systems. Yosemite Decimal System, Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme, French, Australian, and British
The V System is used for bouldering, with V0 at the easiest end of the bouldering grades and V16 at the top. V-grades differ from the YDS in two primary ways:
1.V-grades do not include truly easy climbing. V0 begins at about 5.10.
2.The YDS is designed for the climber who is onsighting, or trying a climb for the first time; V-grades are designed for the boulderer who has practiced the climb until they have found the best possible way to do the boulder problem. For this reason, V-grades may (at first) seem more difficult than their counterpart in the YDS.
Some guidebooks include a seriousness grade for routes with mandatory runouts with no protection that could be dangerous if the leader falls. Note: Just because a route does not have a seriousness rating does not mean that it’s completely safe, and not all guidebooks use the same seriousness rating system. Also, seriousness ratings reflect the risk-taking culture of a given climbing area and vary wildly between areas. And, regardless of the rating, it’s possible to get injured on many routes if you fall at the wrong time.
| PG | Tricky protection but often good gear placements if you can find them; may contain mandatory runouts on a moderate grade relative to the difficulty rating of the climb |
| R or S | Poor protection or long runouts where injury is quite possible if the leader falls |
| X or VS | Usually lacking protection entirely in difficult sections and falling would likely result in serious injury or death |
A length grade gives an idea of how long it may take to climb a route, climbing at an average pace. Speed climbers can often shatter these given times.
| I | A short climb that can be completed in 2–4 hours |
| II | A route that may take 3–6 hours of climbing |
| III | A climb that takes 6–8 hours |
| IV | A route that usually requires a full day of climbing |
| V | A 1¼- to 2-day climb (often completed by fast teams in 1 day) |
| VI | A big wall climb taking 2 days or more to complete |
| VII | A remote big wall that takes more than 10 days to climb |