Sport climbing grades explained: French, YDS and UIAA

YDS: what does 5.10 mean?

The YDS started as a scale for all terrain. Class 1 is walking, class 3 is scrambling and class 5 is technical climbing, where you’d use a rope. The number after the decimal point says how hard the climbing is: 5.6, 5.7, 5.8 and so on.

It isn’t really a decimal: after 5.9 comes 5.10, not 6.0. From 5.10 up, each number is split into four letters, a to d, so 5.10a is easier than 5.10d, which is easier than 5.11a. The hardest routes climbed so far are 5.15d.

French grades

French grades use a number, a letter from a to c and an optional plus: 5c, 6a, 6a+, 6b and so on, written in lowercase. The scale tops out at 9c so far, first climbed by Adam Ondra on Silence in Norway in 2017.

UIAA grades

UIAA grades use Roman numerals with a plus or minus, like VI+ or VII−. You’ll see them in German and Austrian guidebooks and across the Alps. In our chart, 9c lines up with XII−.

How they line up

Charts for every pair: French to YDS, YDS to French and French to UIAA. Or look up one grade: what grade is 5.10a?, what is 7a?

Other systems you’ll meet

• Ewbank (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa): plain numbers, like 18 or 24. See Ewbank to YDS.
• British trad grades: an overall grade (E1, E2…) plus a technical grade (5b, 6a…). See British to French.
• Saxon, Norwegian and Brazilian grades, each with a chart of its own.

What the grades mean

Roughly, and with plenty of local variation:

• 5.6 to 5.9 (French 4 to 5c): beginner routes, mostly on big holds.
• 5.10 (French 6a to 6b+): where many regular climbers spend a while. Holds get smaller and footwork starts to matter.
• 5.11 to 5.12 (French 6c to 7c): advanced climbing that usually takes years of practice.
• 5.13 and up (French 7c+ and up): expert and elite.