Skip to main content

Climbing Route Ratings Explained

One of the most common ways of measuring the grade of a climb is the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS).

     There are five classes in the Yosemite Decimal System. The class is number before the decimal. Class 1 is like walking down the street. If you fall you were either pushed or were not paying attention. Class 2 is like walking up a hiking trail, rocky beach, or sloping hill. If you fall you might hurt yourself but not seriously. Class 3 is equivalent to scrambling up large boulders using your hands to help you get up. If you fall you might break a bone. Class 4 is when you are using your hands and feet to ascend. It is recommended to use a rope and safety equipment because if you fall from a large height you will sustain serious injuries. Class 5 is what is generally thought of as rock climbing. It is required to have a rope, safety equipment, and other climbing gear. You are using technical maneuvers with your hands and feet. If you fall, you are dead or very seriously injured. Under class 5 there are subdivisions depending on how hard a climb is. A basic guide of the subdivisions: 5.5 easy, 5.10 medium, 5.12 hard,  >5.14 Extremely hard. There are all of the numbers in between these numbers as well as further subdivision with A, B, C, and D. (5.11, 5.13b, etc. ).

     Also included in YDS is the Grade of a climb. This is written using a Roman Numeral. The Grade of a climb is meant to give a general idea of how long a climb will take.
Grade I ----1-2 Hours
Grade II---- Less than a half of a day
Grade III---- Half day
Grade IV---- Full day
Grade V ----Two days
Grade VI ----Multiple days
Grade VII ----More than a week

     There is also a protection rating included in the YDS. The Yosemite Decimal System Protection Ratings tell climbers how well the route is protected using either fixed or placed protection. This

rating, combined with the class rating (5.9, 5.10a, etc) helps the climber assess if the climb is worth the risk and if a fall is likely according to the climber's ability level. The ratings are as follows:

G: good, solid protection. If using proper climbing techniques, the climb is very safe.
PG: Pretty good protection. A few moves might leave the climber exposed to a dangerous fall, but overall the climb is safe.
PG-13: Shaky protection. The climber may have to climb high above the last piece of protection, but a fall will most likely not be fatal or cause serious injury.
R: Poor protection, or "runout." The climber will have to climb very high above his/her protection, and a fall from such location will result in death or serious injury. Make sure you have health insurance before climbing!
X: Extremely dangerous. Very, very poor protection available. Do not fall - ever - because a fall will likely cause death.

There is also similar rating scale for bouldering. VO-V3 is easy, V4-V5 is medium, V6-V9 is hard, V10-V15 is very hard. The "V" is short for John "Vermin" Sherman.



There are other systems, but this is the most common system that I have seen used in climbing gyms in the United States.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Origins of the Bycycle

In 1869,  Eugène Meyer of Paris invented the high-wheeler (aka. the "penny farthing") and the wire-spoke tension wheel. This was one of the earliest predecessors to the modern bicycle. With front wheels up to 60 inches in diameter and a direct drive system, they were hard to mount and painful to crash because of the height and hard to ride because of the high center of gravity. Despite all that, the penny farthing took off in popularity.  Next came the manufacturing of a rear-wheel, chain-drive  bicycle with similarly sized wheels and pneumatic tires. These inventions made the bike even more popular because the idea of riding a bicycle with symmetrical wheels wrapped in tires filled with air was a lot more fun than bouncing around high above the street on solid tires. An effect of the huge popularity of bicycles was that cities and municipalities began paving roads to accommodate the flood of cyclists. That's right. Roads were built for bikes. Remember th...

Petzl Saka Climbing Chalk Bag Review

The chalk bag filled with chalk When you are doing rock climbing or bouldering many people use chalk. People use chalk to make their hands less sweaty and improve their grip. When most people are climbing they bring a chalk bag filled with chalk in case they have to use chalk mid-climb. If you are going bouldering, most people bring a large chalk bucket that is meant to be left on the ground. This chalk bag is medium sized and is made with a fairly strong material. This chalk bag is made by the climbing supplies company Petzl. The inside of the chalk bag is soft on the top and on the bottom is a similar material to the outside. On the right side of the bag there are 2 chalk brush slots. The bag is designed to be able to be opened with one hand if you forget to open it before climbing. The belt is adjustable and the bag can be used without a climbing harness. This is useful if you want to use it while bouldering. I am currently using this bag when climbing and it works great. ...

The DIfference Between Top Rope Climbing, Lead Climbing and Bouldering

Top Rope Climbing Recently I had the opportunity to try both top rope climbing and bouldering at EVO in Portland. I also learned about lead climbing. Rock Climbing is the most basic of all of these three methods. This is when you climb up a fairly tall rock wall and you are tethered to the top of the wall and to a belayer. This is the safest of these methods when done correctly. Lead Climbing Lead Climbing is when you are climbing up a rock wall but are not tethered to the top of the wall. As you climb you clip your rope into different carabiners on the rock wall. You are also tethered to a belayer on the ground. When you are lead climbing if you fall, you will generally fall from 6 to 20 feet (Twice the distance from you to your last tie-off point). You generally want a belayer who is heavier than you so that when you fall they don't fly into the air. Bouldering Bouldering is when you climb up a wall that is about 16 feet tall without being strapped/h...