Rock climbing grades explained.

First up on ‘rock climbing grades explained’ is the French sport grading system. You’re most likely to come across it at climbing walls (including our own), but it’s also used for bolted outdoor sport climbs.

The French sport system gives each route a difficulty grade consisting of a number between 1-9 (although technically it is open-ended). As you might expect, the higher the number, the more challenging the climb. 

Each grade can then be subdivided to include a letter from ‘a’ to ‘c’, and sometimes a plus or minus symbol. A route graded 4a would be easier than one graded 4c, whereas a 7a+ climb would be slightly more difficult than a 7a route. Still with us? Most climbing walls offer routes beginning around the 4 mark, and this is where novices should kick things off.

A useful thing to remember when looking at climbing wall grades is that they will have been set by one climber, working as a route setter. In other words, they are subjective. With that in mind, it’s always a good idea to step back and take a look at the climb before you begin. The beauty of climbing at an indoor wall is that it’s super easy to bail out if you attempt an overambitious route! So be bold, nothing ventured… 

If you fancy ascending a climbing wall, head to our Alana, Airone, Messini or Buca Beachclubs. You don’t need any experience to get started and we’ll provide all the equipment and tuition you need. 

When it comes to devising rock climbing grades, UK climbers have perhaps come up with the most complicated. The UK’s old-school system tends to be used for grading outdoor rock climbs that require you to put in your own protection gear and ropes along the way.

The two-part system consists of an adjectival grade and a technical grade. The first gives you an idea of the overall difficulty of a pitch, in terms of factors like the quality of the rock, how extreme the environment is, the danger level and how strenuous the overall climb is. The second grades the most difficult technical move you will find on that route.

Adjectival grades range from Easy through Moderate (M), Difficult (D), Hard Diff (HD), Very Difficult (VD), Hard Very Difficult (HVD), Severe (S), Hard Severe (HS), Very Severe (VS), Hard Very Severe (HVS) and all the way to Extremely Severe (E), which is then further split into categories from E1 to E11 (basically the scariest climb you can ever possibly imagine).

Technical grades work in a similar way to French sport grades, using a combination of numbers and letters. They do not consider the overall experience of the climb, simply the hardest single move you are likely to encounter on it. The scale begins around 4a and runs up to the maximum of a 7b.

Once you’ve wrapped your head around UK traditional grades, you’ll be able to select climbs that play to your strengths, as well as those that will inevitably challenge you. If a safe but more technical route is more your thing, choose a climb with a lower adjectival grade and higher technical score. Or go vice versa if you love a bold and strenuous climb that requires a relatively low skill level. 

There’s some fantastic rock climbing to be found at our Messini, Buca and Alana Beachclubs. Head inland from the coast to discover spectacular mountain landscapes with a wide range of grades to suit all abilities. Our highly-qualified climbing instructors will be on hand to share their favourite routes and show you the unbreakable ropes.

Bouldering is a simplified and often social version of climbing. No fussing about with ropes and harnesses here, instead you climb short routes (also known as problems) that don’t take you too far off the ground. Bouldering is a great way to boost your confidence and technique. Oh, and it’s a whole lot of fun.

The two main bouldering grading systems are the V Scale and the Font Scale (short for the Fontainebleau Scale). 

The V Scale was developed in the US and is an open-ended system currently starting with V0 for the easiest bouldering problems and going all the way up to V17 for the super-skilled pros. 

The Font Scale originated in France and is the most commonly used bouldering grading scale in Europe. The scale begins at 1 (although you’ll rarely see a bouldering route easier than 3) and goes up to 9. As with the French sport grades, it also uses the letters ‘a’, ‘b’ and ‘c’ along with plus and minus symbols to further subdivide the grades.

If you’re an intermediate climber looking to improve your skills, have a go at some bouldering problems between V3-V6 on the V Scale or 6a-7a on the Font scale.