In the United States, we use the Yosemite Decimal System. This is a rating system used primarily in North America to classify the difficulty of scrambling and rock climbing routes, from the easiest walks to the most challenging climbs. It categorizes climbs into five classes (Class 1-5), with Class 5 further broken down into a numerical scale with additional letter grades (a, b, c, d) to indicate increasing difficulty. For a complete description of this system, see our in depth article.
As we are based in North America, it’s really easy to get stuck on our grade system. But there are other rock climbing grade systems out there. The most notable grade systems are the French, the Australian and the British. But unfortunately their rock climbing grades don’t line up perfectly with the North American system.
Here is a comprehensive comparison chart:
Clearly, not everything maps perfectly across each line. The unfortunate reality is that these kinds of comparison charts can only get you so far. When you go to a new place, it’s always best to start easy and work your way up. Every grade everywhere is subjective, but the subjectivity is often relative to the location.
Following are a few additional thoughts about the different systems compared in this article.
French System
The French rock climbing grade system is a numerical scale, from 1 to 9, with letters (a,b,c) and plus (+) or minus (−) signs for finer increments. The number indicates the general difficulty, while the letter and plus/minus provide more specific refinement within that grade, with higher numbers and letters representing harder climbs.
Australian System
The Australian and New Zealand system—known as the Ewbank Grade after its 1960s creator, John Ewbank—is elegantly simple: one number, no letters, no extra symbols, just progressive difficulty. That said, there’s a catch. Routes that are difficult to protect get a higher grade than those that aren’t difficult. So an easy run-out line and a hard sport climb could be the same.
UK System
To be fair, we didn’t give this system it’s complete due in the above chart. It’s complicated because it combines two grades together.
There are two parts to the British system, the adjectival part and the technical part. We only compared the technical grade in the above.
The adjectival grade is the first part of a UK trad rating, describing the overall seriousness of a route—its sustained difficulty, exposure, protection, and rock quality. This open-ended scale runs as follows: Easy (E), Moderate (M), Difficult (D), Hard Difficult (HD), Very Difficult (VD), Hard Very Difficult (HVD), Severe (S), Hard Severe (HS), Very Severe (VS), Hard Very Severe (HVS) and Extremely Severe, the last category being broken down more into E1, E2, E3 etc.
The second part—the technical grade—focuses on the single hardest move, running from roughly 4a through 7b. Higher numbers rarely appear because increasing difficulty usually shows up as greater seriousness rather than radically harder moves.
Together, the two grades paint a fuller picture. Typical pairings include S 4a, HS 4b, VS 4c, HVS 5a, E1 5b, and E2 5c. At the top end, the technical grade rises more slowly, with E6 often landing around 6b.
Yeah. It’s weird.
V Grade System for Bouldering
It should be noted that we compared the V bouldering system to the Yosemite Decimal System in this chart. Even though this system was developed in North America, it doesn’t exactly map to the YDS system.
The North American bouldering rating system was developed because the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) was designed for roped climbing routes and did not adequately account for the unique challenges of bouldering, which focuses on short, powerful moves instead of long-duration effort and risk. YDS ratings for roped routes factor in difficulty, length, and risk, whereas V-scale grades for boulder problems primarily assess the absolute difficulty of a short sequence of moves.
The V-grade system for bouldering was created in the 1980s by climber John Sherman, nicknamed “Vermin” or “Verm.” The V in the system came from Sherman’s nickname. It started in Hueco Tanks, Texas, to provide a standardized, open-ended grading system for bouldering problems. The scale begins at V0 and currently extends to V17, allowing for the classification of increasingly difficult climbs. In the chart above, V0- is used for easier climbs. However, some books identify climbs below V0 as VB.
Sherman’s system was created as a counter to John Gill’s earlier B-scale, which shifted as climbs were repeated and downrated. That constant drift made grades murky, so Sherman proposed something steadier. His solution stuck, and it’s now the North American standard. However, occasionally you’ll still find guidebooks with Bs in them.
French Font Bouldering System
The French bouldering system is a numerical scale from 1A to 9A (and potentially higher) that uses a number and a letter (A, B or C) to denote difficulty, with a plus or minus to further refine the grade. This system originated in the Fontainebleau region of France and is used widely in Europe. Unlike the roped French system, the letters are capitalized.
Fontainebleau is considered the birthplace of modern bouldering, with its history beginning in the 19th century as a training ground for alpine climbers. In the 1940s, climbers began marking routes with colored dots and arrows to create circuits, a practice that evolved into the standardized, color-coded system used today. Modern bouldering in Fontainebleau advanced significantly in the 1950s and 60s with the establishment of classic problems and further development in the 1990s with the introduction of crash pads.
Other Systems
There are a variety of other scales that are less well known. These include:
- Dresden Scale – Developed at the start of the 20th century for the emerging Saxon Switzerland climbing region, it was gradually adopted by other climbing areas in the region. The system uses a combination roman numerals and letters. The letters “a”, “b” and “c” are added from grade VII up. The system is not purely focused on technical difficulties but is also based on route length, psychological commitment, placements distance, and risk. This is also referred to as the German/Swiss Saxon Scale or the East German Scale.
- Scandinavian Scale – Norway, Finland, and Sweden each have their own numerical grading systems, which don’t match up perfectly but are largely comparable and can be aligned in reference tables. All three systems are open-ended, use Arabic numerals, and employ “+” and “−” signs to fine-tune the difficulty between numbers (for example: −4, 4, 4+, −5, 5, 5+, 6−, 6, and so on).
- Brazilian Technical Scale – Brazilian climbing uses a two-part grading system. The first is a numerical grade from 1 (easiest) to 8 (hardest), representing the overall level of difficulty. The second, and more commonly used, is the technical grade, which measures the difficulty of the hardest moves or sequences. This scale begins with Roman numerals, using “sup.” for fine-tuning between levels, up to VIsup.—roughly equivalent to VII+ (UIAA), f6b+ (French), or 5.10d (American). Beyond VIsup., the system switches to Arabic numerals starting at 7, with “a,” “b,” and “c” added for further refinement (e.g., VI, VIsup, 7a, 7b, 7c, 8a, etc.).
- Cracow Scale – Until the 1970s, climbers in the limestone areas near Kraków—where Polish sport climbing first developed—used a simple scale ranging from Grade I (easiest) to Grade VI (hardest). As climbers pushed into harder terrain, the system proved insufficient. Polish alpinist Wojciech Kurtyka proposed an extension: the original scale continued to describe easier routes, while more challenging climbs beyond Grade VI+ adopted Arabic numerals with “+” refinements. This created a sequence of new grades: VI.1, VI.1+, VI.2, VI.2+, and so on.
- Dankyū system – Often referred to as the “kyū–dan” bouldering system, this Japanese grading scale mirrors the structure of martial arts ranks. Born in the bouldering mecca of Ogawayama, it starts at 10-kyū drops to 1-kyū. From there, climbers enter the black-belt realm: 1-Dan (shodan) marks the first step into advanced territory and roughly aligns with V7. At the far end of the spectrum sits 6-Dan (rokudan), which corresponds to about V16.
For more information on rating systems in North America, click here.