Climbing route grades: French system, YDS and UIAA
Route climbing is the most universal discipline in climbing, and yet the grading scales differ from one part of the globe to another. 7a in a Buoux guidebook, 5.11c/d in a Red River Gorge guide, VIII in the Dolomites, E4/E5 6a in the Peak District. 4 numbers to describe, roughly, the same physical difficulty… or not!!! This article puts the systems side by side: reading an American guidebook without hesitating, opening a German booklet without stumbling over the Roman numerals. And understanding why a British E5 is not a sport 7a. Conversion table included, print it out if you need it for the next trip.
The French system: 3a to 9c
The French system descends from the work of Willo Welzenbach in the 1920s, picked up and extended after the war, then settled in the 1970s when sport climbing took off in France. The principle is simple: a number (from 1 to 9, or even 10 in theory), a letter (a, b, c), a modifier (+ or nothing). Between two steps, the slash exists for routes that sit in between (7c/7c+). The system is open ended at the top, with no theoretical ceiling.
It dominates in France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium, and it was widely exported to the rest of the world from the 1980s onwards. The reference points to remember:
- 3a-4c: beginner ground, “comfortable” holds
- 5a-5c: warm up for an independent climber, beginner level on rock
- 6a-6b: mainstream level, a large volume of climbers sit at this level
- 6c-7a: experienced, 7a remains the big symbolic goal for a lot of adult climbers
- 7b-7c: you start to leave the average level behind. This level has tended to rise in recent years as the sport has become more popular.
- 8a: the symbolic step for the committed climber, the very top level a few decades ago and now simply the entry point to being called an expert climber.
- 8b-8c: international high level
- 9a-9b: world elite
- 9c: ultra high level, opened by Adam Ondra with Silence at Flatanger (Norway) in 2017
The American YDS system (Yosemite Decimal System)
The YDS, or Yosemite Decimal System, was born in the Sierra Club at Tahquitz Rock, in California, in the 1950s. It splits difficulty into 5 classes: class 1 is walking, class 2 is steep ground where you sometimes put a hand down, class 3 is “rocky” scrambling, class 4 is easy climbing, class 5 is roped free climbing. Everything that interests us on rock falls into class 5, hence the 5.X notation.
The system runs from 5.0 to 5.9 in its historical version. When Yosemite climbers started going beyond 5.9, they opened up 5.10 in the 1960s. To handle the bunching at the top, the letters a, b, c, d were added from 5.10 onwards: 5.10a, 5.10b, 5.10c, 5.10d, then 5.11a and so on. The system today goes up to 5.15d, the equivalent of French 9c. Note that the Americans sometimes keep the slash as well, written 5.13a/b or 5.13a-b depending on the region.
The YDS dominates in the USA, in Canada (with a few local conventions), and it partly extends into South America. A Red River Gorge or Smith Rock guidebook will systematically use the YDS for sport routes, and will often add an R or X note for seriousness (see below).
French, YDS and UIAA conversion table
The conversions below are the consensus but they are argued over at the margins: a French 6a can be a 5.10a or a 5.10b depending on the guidebook, and the conversion between YDS and UIAA varies from one book to another. Take it as a compass, not as a GPS.
| French | YDS | UIAA |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 5.5 | IV |
| 4+ | 5.6 | IV+ |
| 5a | 5.7 | V- |
| 5b | 5.8 | V+ |
| 5c | 5.9 | VI |
| 6a | 5.10a | VI+ |
| 6a+ | 5.10b | VII- |
| 6b | 5.10c | VII |
| 6b+ | 5.10d | VII+ |
| 6c | 5.11a | VII+/VIII- |
| 6c+ | 5.11b | VIII- |
| 7a | 5.11c/d | VIII |
| 7a+ | 5.12a | VIII+ |
| 7b | 5.12b | VIII+/IX- |
| 7b+ | 5.12c | IX- |
| 7c | 5.12d | IX |
| 7c+ | 5.13a | IX+ |
| 8a | 5.13b | IX+/X- |
| 8a+ | 5.13c | X- |
| 8b | 5.13d | X |
| 8b+ | 5.14a | X+ |
| 8c | 5.14b | XI- |
| 8c+ | 5.14c | XI-/XI |
| 9a | 5.14d | XI |
| 9a+ | 5.15a | XI/XI+ |
| 9b | 5.15b | XI+/XII- |
| 9b+ | 5.15c | XII- |
| 9c | 5.15d | XII |
The UIAA system (Roman numerals)
The UIAA, the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, formalised a Roman numeral system to unify alpine and rock grading in central Europe. It starts at I (a steep path where you sometimes use your hands) and it has been open ended at the top since 1985: no ceiling by design, but the highest degree actually awarded to date is XII (Silence, 9c, put up by Adam Ondra in 2017).
The UIAA is still dominant in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and in alpine Italy, the Dolomites in particular. When you open a guidebook for the Tre Cime, the Civetta, the Catinaccio or the Sella, you are reading Roman numerals. A famous special case: the Elbsandstein in Saxony uses a very conservative local variant (a notorious sandbag), with a system that goes beyond XII and allows neither chalk nor metal protection. A Saxon VIIIa is not a standard UIAA VIII, it is harsher.
The British trad system
The British grade traditional climbing on 2 crossed axes. It is the system that carries the most information, and the most confusing one when you first come across it. The first axis is the “adjectival grade”, which describes the overall seriousness: quality of the protection, possible fall height, how bad a mistake would be, exposure. It breaks down as follows:
- Easy, Moderate, Difficult (written Diff), Very Difficult (VDiff)
- Severe (S), Hard Severe (HS), Very Severe (VS), Hard Very Severe (HVS)
- Extreme: E1, E2, E3, up to E11 and E12 currently
The second axis is the “technical grade”, which describes the pure difficulty of the hardest move, independently of the danger: 4a, 4b, 4c, 5a, 5b, 5c, 6a, 6b, 6c, 7a, 7b. The 2 grades are read together: an E5 6a is less technical but much more serious than an E1 7a. The first protects badly and a fall can have serious consequences, the second protects well but demands a good level. The textbook case: Rhapsody, first climbed by Dave MacLeod at Dumbarton Rock in 2006, graded E11 7a, where a long fall onto “marginal” protection is possible.
In France, seriousness is rarely spelled out in sport guidebooks. At best you will read “engagé” (serious), “premier point haut” (high first bolt), or a note on the quality of the bolting. On multi pitch routes and adventure terrain (TA), the grade is completed by a different code (E1 to E6, or T1 to T6 depending on the region). To use a foreign guidebook with peace of mind, check the local grading system!!
How consensus on a grade is built
The first ascensionist proposes, the community confirms. The rule has applied from the start. The person who first “frees” the route sometimes spends weeks or months on it, which makes them both judge and party. Repeaters can then find better beta (placements, kneebars) and the grade can erode. A few famous downgrades:
- Akira (Fred Rouhling, Charente): proposed at 9b in 1995, the first 9b claimed in the world, left unrepeated for 25 years, treated as an oddity by the international community. Repeated in 2020 by Seb Bouin and Lucien Martinez, who downgraded it to 9a.
- Bibliographie (Céüse): opened at 9c by Alex Megos in August 2020, which made it the 2nd route at that level in the world. Repeated in August 2021 by Stefano Ghisolfi, who proposes 9b+ after finding a kneebar.
Which level corresponds to what for you
Practical markers to place your level from one system to another:
- You send 6a on French rock: 5.10a YDS, VI+ UIAA, HVS 5a in British trad
- You are working 7a: 5.11d YDS, VIII UIAA, the rough equivalent of a sport E2 5c
- You are chasing 8a: 5.13b YDS, IX+/X- UIAA, off the British trad map for most people
- You read a German guidebook that announces VII+: get ready for French 6b+, which is 5.10d YDS
- You head to Italy in the Dolomites and you read V+: that is 5b
To go further on reading levels and on progression, see the general grading guide, the detail of the bouldering system (Fontainebleau and V-grade), and the indoor / outdoor contrast that explains why an indoor 6b is not a 6b on rock.
FAQ
What is a French 7a equivalent to?
A French 7a corresponds to a 5.11c or a 5.11d in American YDS (the line moves depending on the guidebook), and to a VIII UIAA, sometimes VIII- depending on the local convention. In British trad, it is in the order of a sport E2 5c, but the comparison stays shaky because the E includes seriousness.
Why do the Americans say 5.13a instead of 7c+?
Because their system comes from the Yosemite Decimal System. Every route on rock is therefore in class 5, and the number after the dot indicates the level within that class. The 5 is not really a difficulty, it is a historical prefix.
What is a 5.10c?
A 5.10c corresponds roughly to a French 6b, which is early experienced level. The c shade sits in the middle of the 5.10 step, between 5.10a (close to 6a) and 5.10d (close to 6b+).
What level do you need to join a club?
None, in reality. Most clubs welcome complete beginners and the progression happens on site. If you want to place yourself before you turn up, being able to climb 5b or 5c is plenty to pass as independent. 6a on rock is already a solid milestone.
To carry on reading on the training and vocabulary side: making progress in climbing, hangboard exercises and programme, climbing glossary.
A propos de l’auteur
Woodrock c’est le mariage de 2 passions : la menuiserie et l’escalade. Concevoir, fabriquer, usiner et vous envoyer des poutres d’escalade de qualité est une partie de mon quotidien. Le reste du temps, j’aime grimper sur les falaises des contreforts du Vercors.
