what’s in a grade?

Over the next few weeks, we are talking all about grades in The Approach. To begin the grade discussion, we first have to define just what a grade is.

Starting simply, a grade is difficulty assigned to a climb. There are a number of different grading systems and here in the US there are two main systems used. There is the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) traditionally used to rate roped climbs (sport, trad, multipitch, etc.) and the Vermin scale (V-scale) used to rate boulders.

The YDS rates terrains from class 1 (hiking) through class 5 (rock climbing). The class 5 climbs are further broken down into grades from 5.0-5.15, with climbs 5.10 and above being further divided into letter grades from a to d (ex: 5.10a, 5.10b, etc.).

The V-scale, named after its creator John “Vermin” Sherman, ranges from 0-17. Different countries and regions will use different grading scales, notably the Font scale for bouldering and the French scale for routes.

Here’s a summary of the different grading scales and how they translate to each other: https://www.mountainproject.com/international-climbing-grades

Needless to say, our community has spent a lot of time and energy developing ways to quantify the difficulty of rock climbs.

So who determines the grade of a climb?

The typical order of operations (outdoors) begins when someone first completes a new climb. Once completed, the first ascensionist will propose a grade for that climb. The next ascensionists will either confirm the grade or propose a different grade when they also complete the climb.

As the climb gets more and more repeats and as more ascensionists propose their personal grades, a consensus grade forms. This consensus grade is generally accepted by the community at large and may be printed in guidebooks or published on online platforms.

Indoors, setters create climbs, forerun them, tweak them, then assign them a grade.

Sounds all well and good, right? 

Well, we all know that grades don’t end up feeling quite so simple. Here are some things to consider when looking at a grade.

There’s no getting around the fact that grades are subjective and grades tend to be established by a fairly homogenous population. While our community as a whole certainly benefits from the work of first ascensionists, it’s important to note that it takes a lot of time, money, and energy to establish rock climbs.

Finding climbs, cleaning them, bolting them, projecting them, etc. is an extensive and resource-consuming process. While this may vary in different countries and regions, in the US (and westernized world) this process has historically only been accessible to a small population with abundant privilege.

This has been historically very similar when it comes to who is setting in gyms, though the industry is moving in a better direction.

This inevitably skews the grading system to favor the morphology of that population, in this case the average height white male. If there were a bunch of women under 5’4” running around and establishing climbs, I can guarantee the grades would look much different.

Our climbing culture often links ability with value but in truth, grades only have the significance you give them. Keep all of this information in mind as you navigate grades both inside the gym and outside!