British to French grade conversion chart
Every British grade with its French equivalent, side by side. Where the two scales don't line up, you'll see a range.
Key conversions
- HVS 5a = 5b/5c
- E1 5b = 6a+
- E2 5c = 6b+
- E3 5c = 6b+/6c+
- E4 6a = 6c+/7a+
- E5 6b = 7b
- E6 6b = 7b+/7c
- E7 6c = 8a
- E9 7b = 8c/8c+
| HVS 4c | 4c+/ | 5.8 | V/ |
|---|---|---|---|
| HVS 5a | 5b/ | 5.9 | V+/ |
| E1 5a | 5c/ | 5.10a | VI/ |
| E1 5b | 6a+ | 5.10b | VII− |
| E2 5b | 6b | 5.10c | VII |
| E2 5c | 6b+ | 5.10d | VII+ |
| E3 5c | 6b+/ | 5.11a/ | VII+/ |
| E4 6a | 6c+/ | 5.11c/ | VIII−/ |
| E5 6a | 7a+ | 5.12a | VIII+ |
| E5 6b | 7b | 5.12b | VIII+/ |
| E6 6b | 7b+/ | 5.12c/ | IX−/ |
| E6 6c | 7c+ | 5.13a | IX+ |
| E7 6c | 8a | 5.13b | X− |
| E7 7a | 8a+ | 5.13c | X |
| E8 7a | 8b/ | 5.13d/ | X+/ |
| E9 7b | 8c/ | 5.14b/ | XI−/ |
| E10 7b | 9a | 5.14d | XI |
| E11 7b | 9a+ | 5.15a | XI/ |
Approximate. Conversions by OpenBeta sandbag; British from RockFax/theCrag tables.
About these grades
British trad grades pair an adjectival grade for overall seriousness (E1 to E11) with a technical grade for the hardest move (5a to 7b).
French grades are the sport climbing scale used across Europe and most of the world, from 3 to 9c, written in lowercase (6b+).