Ratings

Grading Systems

The rating systems you'll run into across guidebooks and route descriptions, and how to read them.

6 terms

Comparing French Grade and YDS

French GradeTypical YDS Range
F (Facile)up to 5.4
PD (Peu Difficile)5.4 – 5.6
AD (Assez Difficile)5.6 – 5.9
D (Difficile)5.9 – 5.10
TD (Très Difficile)5.10 – 5.11
ED (Extrêmement Difficile)5.11 and harder

Approximate only – French grade rates a route's overall difficulty and commitment, while YDS rates the hardest single pitch, so two routes with the same French grade can demand very different technical climbing. Ice climbing (WI), bouldering (V-scale), and avalanche danger don't map onto either scale.

The terms, A–Z

Grading

Alpine Grade

Also calledcommitment grade, NCCS grade

An overall rating for a route's length, commitment, and difficulty combined, often called the commitment grade, layered on top of a technical grade rather than replacing it:

  1. Grade I: Less than half a day of technical climbing.
  2. Grade II: About half a day of technical climbing.
  3. Grade III: Most of a day of technical climbing.
  4. Grade IV: A full day of technical climbing, generally 5.7 or harder.
  5. Grade V: Typically requires an overnight on the route.
  6. Grade VI: Two or more days of sustained, hard technical climbing.
  7. Grade VII: Remote big walls climbed in alpine style, often at altitude or in committing locations.

Grading

Avalanche Danger Scale

Also calledavalanche danger rating

The five-step North American scale used in avalanche forecasts, rating how likely and how large an is expected to be on a given day. Danger rises sharply, not evenly, between levels:

  1. Low: Generally safe conditions. Watch for unstable snow on isolated terrain features.
  2. Moderate: Heightened danger on specific terrain features. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully and identify features of concern.
  3. Considerable: Dangerous conditions. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding, and conservative decision-making are essential.
  4. High: Very dangerous conditions. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.
  5. Extreme: Avoid all avalanche terrain.

Grading

French Grade

Also calledUIAA grade

The technical difficulty scale used across most of Europe, rating a route's overall difficulty from easy scrambling to extreme alpine climbing. Roughly comparable to but not a direct conversion of the used in North America:

  1. F (Facile): Easy. Scrambling and walking, with occasional glacier travel.
  2. PD (Peu Difficile): Not very difficult. Some technical climbing and more involved glacier travel.
  3. AD (Assez Difficile): Fairly difficult. Steep technical climbing, often with snow or ice above 50 degrees.
  4. D (Difficile): Difficult. Sustained technical climbing across rock, ice, and snow.
  5. TD (Très Difficile): Very difficult. Long, remote routes with serious technicality on multiple kinds of terrain.
  6. ED (Extrêmement Difficile): Extremely difficult. The top of the scale, combining technicality, remoteness, and duration, open-ended with ED1, ED2, and beyond for further distinction.

Grading

Ice Climbing Grade

Also calledWI grade, water ice grade

A difficulty scale for ice climbing, written as WI (water ice) followed by a number, rating steepness and ice quality rather than the move-by-move difficulty a rock grade implies:

  1. WI1: Low-angle ice, walkable without much technique.
  2. WI2: Consistent 60-degree ice with good protection and rests.
  3. WI3: Sustained 70-degree ice with bulges to 80-90 degrees, but reasonable rests and stances for screws.
  4. WI4: Continuous 80-90-degree ice over multiple pitches, with fewer rests.
  5. WI5: A full, strenuous pitch of 85-90-degree ice with few good rests, or a shorter pitch of thin, hard-to-protect ice.
  6. WI6: A full pitch of near-vertical ice with no rests at all. Highly technical.
  7. WI7: Rare and severe. Overhanging, often unstable ice with serious risk if it fails.

Grading

V-Scale

Also calledVermin scale, bouldering grade

The grading scale for bouldering, created by John Sherman and running from V0 upward with no fixed ceiling, rating a single hard sequence rather than a sustained multi-move pitch:

  1. V0: Entry level, suited to first-time boulderers.
  2. V1 to V3: Novice grades, building basic movement and technique.
  3. V4 to V6: Intermediate, where real strength and technique start to matter.
  4. V7 to V9: Advanced, requiring dedicated training and conditioning.
  5. V10 and up: Elite, climbed by a small population of highly trained climbers worldwide.

Grading

YDS

Also calledYosemite Decimal System

The US scale for hiking and climbing difficulty, running from Class 1 up through Class 5, which is further broken into decimal grades for roped climbing:

  1. Class 1: Trail hiking. Hands stay in your pockets.
  2. Class 2: Simple scrambling, with occasional use of hands for balance.
  3. Class 3: Scrambling that uses hands regularly, with exposure to short falls.
  4. Class 4: Steep, exposed terrain where a fall could be serious. Many parties rope up even though the holds are still big.
  5. 5.0 to 5.7: The easiest roped climbing, large holds on mostly vertical rock.
  6. 5.8 to 5.9: Intermediate climbing, smaller holds and more sustained movement.
  7. 5.10 to 5.11: Advanced, technical climbing, usually split further into a/b/c/d.
  8. 5.12 to 5.13: Expert level, demanding dedicated training.
  9. 5.14 and up: Elite, among the hardest climbing in the world.