Climbing Route Grades

Since we’ll be discussing climbing a fair amount here, we thought we should include a note on climbing grades. All climbing routes in North America are graded according to the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS), which is theoretically based on the difficulty of the hardest move on the climb. The leading ‘5’ simply denotes technical climbing where a rope is advised. The following description of the levels within the YDS is from Freedom of the Hills, one of the standard instructional books on climbing/mountaineering, and was reprinted in the J-Tree parks brochure this fall:

5.0 - 5.4: There are two hand- and footholds for every move; the holds become progressively smaller as the number increases.

5.5 - 5.6: The two hand- and footholds are there, obvious to the experienced but not necessarily to the beginner.

5.7: The move is missing one hand- or foothold.

5.8: The move is missing two of the four holds, or missing only one but the move is very strenuous.

5.9: This move has only one reasonable hold which may be for either a foot or a hand

5.10: No hand or footholds. The choices are to pretend a hold is there, pray a lot, or go home.

5.11: After thorough inspection you conclude that this move is obviously impossible; however, occasionally someone actually accomplishes it. Since there is nothing for a handhold, grab it with both hands.

5.12: The surface is smooth as glass and vertical. No one has really ever made this move, although a few claim they have.

5.13: This is identical to 5.12 except it is located on overhanging rock.

Since the publishing of this article in FotH 5.14 and 5.15 have been added to the scale. Don’t expect to hear them referred to in this blog much, tho :)