Climbing Routes Demystified: A Guide to Difficulty Ratings and Grades

From beginner-friendly paths to expert-only ascents, understanding climbing route classifications is essential for every climber. Learn how difficulty ratings work and what they mean for your next climb.

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If you are a beginner climber and you feel like you have to learn another language to get on board, you are not alone. Climbing terminology is on a league of its own, but once you know the basics, its mostly just practice.

Here are a few key climbing terms to keep in mind as you read this article:

Aid climbing: a type of climbing that uses rope, fixed bolts, pitons or foot slings to ascend the face instead of solely relying on the features of the rock itself.

Belay: A rope system used to keep the climber from falling too far. It includes rope, anchors, belay device and of course, the belayer.

Belayer: The person who is in charge of managing the rope of the belay system to catch the climber in case of a fall or slip.

Crux: The toughest move or series of moves on a climb

Free Climb: To climb using only hands and feet on the rock

Grade: The amount of time it takes to climb a route

Ratings: Numerical and sometimes alphabetical values given to a route to describe its difficulty.

Route: the path up a specific climb

One of the basics of climbing is knowing the rating of the routes you climb on. The rating system of climbing came from the Yosemite Decimal System (YSD) and it is used in both climbing gyms and outdoors. It is used to rate technical rock climbs from 5.0 to 5.15

Understanding route lingo starts with knowing the classifications. They are rated from 1-5:

Route Classifications
Class 1	Walking on a flat, established trail
Class 2	Hiking a steep incline with the occasional use of hands
Class 3	Climbing a steep hillside with moderate exposure. Hands are used in climbing and a rope is carried but not always used. A short fall is possible.
Class 4	Climbing an even steeper hillside, most of it being exposed. Most people use rope here due to the greater risk of a long fall.
Class 5	Climbing with belayed roping required. The route is technical and not for a novice. Falls from Class 5 could be fatal.

Once you get to a Class 5, there are several sub-categories within the class that get harder and harder, so be sure you do your research on the rating of the routes you intend to go on.

Class 5 Sub-Categories
5.1-5.4	Easy	A steep section that has large handholds and footholds suitable for beginners
5.5-5.8	Intermediate	Smaller footholds and handholds with low-angle to vertical terrain. These are for beginner to intermediate climbers who have acquired some skills
5.9-5.10	Hard	Vertical and may have overhangs, requiring specific climbing skills that most hobby climbers can reach.
5.11-5.12	Hard to Difficult	Technical and vertical with small holds on overhangs. These routes are for those who have had lots of practice and experience.
5.13-5.15	Very Difficult	Technical and vertcical routes that tend to be strenuous. Most have overhangs with small holds and are meant for expert climbers that train regularly.
6.0	Can't be free climbed	Entirely lacking hand and foot holds and can only be aid-climbed

In addition to the class of the climb, most guides will also mention crux and grades.

The crux is the basis for climbing ratings and some guidebooks will provide further emphasis on difficulty by adding a + or - to the rating. The + suggests that a route has the same difficulty most of the way up, while the - suggests that just one or two spots on the route will be as difficult as the crux of the climb.

The amount of time that a climb will take is referred to as a grade. Here is an idea of what the different grades look like:

• Grade I: A couple of hours

• Grade II: About 4 hours

• Grade III: 4-6 hours

• Grade IV: One long day

• Grade V: Two days with an overnight stay

• Grade VI: Two or more days

Many people use "grade" and "rating" interchangeably with a YSD number. Unless you are thinking about a long outdoor expedition, don't worry too much about the distinction.

As you go out and learn to climb, keep in mind that ratings vary depending on the environment, region, and situation. Moving from the gym to the outdoors will be a lot different because of the weathered hand and footholds and can end up being more challenging than you think. If you need to start at a lower rate outside, don't be discouraged because everyone has to start somewhere and it is better to be safe than sorry.