If you are into this rock climbing thing as much as I am, you have probably noticed that there a gazillion different grading systems for describing the difficulty of climbing routes.
People in Europe mostly use the UIAA and the French grading schemes (but some parts of Germany and the Czechs have their own), unless they live in Great Britain where a different scheme is in use. Climbers in the US use their own popular scheme to rate their climbs. So do climbers in Norway, Australia, Brazil, Finland and South Africa. I’m sure there are more, but these are the ones I know of.
And if you are into bouldering (short climbs without a rope on large rocks), you have to remember another two grading schemes. Fun, huh? But it only just started: We have another grade for ice climbing, one for alpine climbing (think of the north face of Eiger, Matterhorn and the like), and a third one used when rating aided climbing.
Unless you are a total genius, it is impossible to remember all the schemes (or even the important ones), let alone to remember how they compare to each other.
Fear not, help is on its way. Based on information from Wikipedia, I compiled a little cheat sheet that lists all of the above schemes and puts them in comparison. I made the sheet to the best of my knowledge and I think it is accurate. Should you spot any errors, leave a comment.
Hi,
I am doing my level 2 NICAS award and need help with some questions, please?
1. What is the French equivalent of grade E11?
2, What French grade is currently the hardest climb in the world? Who climbed it? What is it called? Where in the world is it?
Thank you.
Rachael. [aged 11]