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No 186, June 15, 1999 Current Issue Editorial Special How-to Sections Rock Craft Online Letters You Review Products Secure Ordering Readers Index Search back issue Link Pages Contact us |
Rock Craft | Sport Climbing | Destinations | Training
Recommended Reading | Gear | Higher Education | Ratings What's the grade?Sport climbers sometimes get accused of number chasing, and I won't deny that there's an element of truth to the slur. Part of the attraction of sport climbing is seeking out physical difficulty, and that is quantified in the rating of a route. Without ratings it would be hard to find routes that match our abilities or to measure our progress over time. Still, it's important to remember that ratings are subjective. They depend on someone else's opinion of difficulty, and that person probably has different strengths and weaknesses than you. Thus, don't be surprised if you cruise a 5.11 and then struggle desperately on a nearby 5.10. The lesson? Use ratings for guidance and self-motivation, but don't take them so seriously that they spoil your fun or inflate your ego. Like trad routes, sport climbs are rated on the Yosemite Decimal System (see the traditional-climbing sidebar on ratings for more details). Unlike trad routes, it's rare to find sport climbs that are easier than 5.8 a stiff level for most novice climbers. If you're just starting out it may help to toprope easier non-bolted lines at the cliffs and begin leading in rock gyms, which often have bolted routes as easy as 5.5. The Yosemite Decimal System is open ended, but currently tops out at 5.14c in America. Three routes Necessary Evil at the Virgin River Gorge, Arizona, Just Do It at Smith Rock, Oregon, and Ice Cream at American Fork, Utah are given this grade. Most European countries use the French rating system for sport routes; the top standards over there are a notch higher at 9a (5.14d), and are currently the hardest in the world. The Australians and Germans also have their own rating systems for sport routes. Use the following table to translate. GRADE COMPARISONS |
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USA 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10a 5.10b 5.10c 5.10d 5.11a 5.11b 5.11c 5.11d 5.12a 5.12b 5.12c 5.12d 5.13a 5.13b 5.13c 5.13d 5.14a 5.14b 5.14c 5.14d 5.15a |
FRA 4a 4b 4c 5a 5b 5c 6a 6a+ 6b 6b+ 6c 6c+ 7a 7a+ 7b 7b+ 7c 7c+ 8a 8a+ 8b 8b+ 8c 8c+ 9a |
AUS 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 |
GER 5- 5 5+ 6- 6 6+ 7- 7 7+ 8- 8 8+ 9- 9 9+ 10- 10 10+ 11- |
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Rock Craft | Sport Climbing | Destinations | Training Recommended Reading | Gear | Higher Education | Ratings |
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