Climbing Grade Converter
Convert between YDS, French, UIAA, and British climbing grade systems. Pick a system, choose a grade, see the equivalents.
Quick Answer
5.10a YDS equals 6a French, VI- UIAA, and roughly HVS 5a British. Grade systems diverge above 5.10 because letter and plus modifiers don't map one-to-one. Always cross-reference local guidebooks.
Equivalent Grades
Full Conversion Table
| YDS | French | UIAA | British |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | 1 | I | M 1a |
| 5.3 | 2 | II | M 1b |
| 5.4 | 3 | III | D 1c |
| 5.5 | 4a | IV | VD 2a |
| 5.6 | 4b | IV+ | S 2b |
| 5.7 | 4c | V- | HS 4a |
| 5.8 | 5a | V | HS 4b |
| 5.9 | 5b | V+ | VS 4c |
| 5.10a | 5c | VI- | HVS 5a |
| 5.10b | 6a | VI | HVS 5a |
| 5.10c | 6a+ | VI+ | E1 5b |
| 5.10d | 6b | VII- | E2 5b |
| 5.11a | 6b+ | VII | E2 5c |
| 5.11b | 6c | VII+ | E3 5c |
| 5.11c | 6c+ | VIII- | E3 6a |
| 5.11d | 7a | VIII | E4 6a |
| 5.12a | 7a+ | VIII+ | E4 6b |
| 5.12b | 7b | IX- | E5 6b |
| 5.12c | 7b+ | IX | E5 6b |
| 5.12d | 7c | IX+ | E6 6c |
| 5.13a | 7c+ | X- | E6 6c |
| 5.13b | 8a | X | E7 6c |
| 5.13c | 8a+ | X+ | E7 7a |
| 5.13d | 8b | XI- | E8 7a |
| 5.14a | 8b+ | XI | E8 7a |
| 5.14b | 8c | XI+ | E9 7b |
| 5.14c | 8c+ | XII- | E10 7b |
| 5.14d | 9a | XII | E10 7b |
| 5.15a | 9a+ | XII+ | E11 7c |
| 5.15b | 9b | XIII- | E11 7c |
| 5.15c | 9b+ | XIII | E11 7c |
| 5.15d | 9c | XIII+ | E12 7c |
About This Tool
The Climbing Grade Converter translates rock climbing difficulty grades across the four major systems used worldwide: the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) used in North America, the French sport climbing system used across Europe, the UIAA system used in Germany and Eastern Europe, and the British trad system used throughout the United Kingdom. If you're traveling to climb internationally, comparing routes from different guidebooks, or trying to understand a video describing a grade you don't recognize, this converter gives you a fast, reliable answer.
Yosemite Decimal System (YDS)
The YDS is the standard system for graded rock climbs in the United States and Canada. It originated at Tahquitz Rock in California in the 1950s and was later refined at Yosemite. Class 5 covers technical roped climbing, with grades from 5.0 (very easy) to 5.15d (the world's hardest confirmed routes, currently held by routes like Silence by Adam Ondra). At 5.10 and above, each whole number is split into four sub-grades using letters a, b, c, and d, where d is the hardest. So 5.11d is significantly harder than 5.11a.
French Sport System
The French system dominates sport climbing globally. It uses numbers from 1 to 9, modified with letters a, b, c and optional plus signs. Grades follow a simple progression: 6a, 6a+, 6b, 6b+, 6c, 6c+, 7a, and so on. The French system has cleaner sub-grade resolution than YDS for the hardest grades and has become the de facto standard for IFSC competitions, the Olympics, and most European guidebooks.
UIAA System
UIAA grades are still common in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. They use Roman numerals from I (easiest) through XII+ (hardest), with + and - modifiers. UIAA was historically tied to traditional alpine climbing and tends to read as one number softer than French grades — a French 7a is about UIAA VIII. Modern guidebooks often list both UIAA and French grades side by side.
British Trad Grades
The British system is the most nuanced because it captures two dimensions: how hard the climbing is and how serious the consequences of a fall would be. The adjectival grade (Easy, Moderate, Difficult, Very Difficult, Severe, Hard Severe, Very Severe, Hard Very Severe, then E1 through E12) describes overall seriousness — protection, exposure, sustained difficulty. The technical grade (4a through 7c) describes the hardest move. A bold, scary route with easy moves might be E5 5c, while a safe sport-like route with hard moves might be E1 6b.
Why Grades Don't Match Perfectly
Climbing grades are subjective and consensus-driven. They reflect the collective opinion of locals about how hard a route feels relative to other routes nearby. Different rock types favor different climbing styles: granite slabs reward careful footwork, limestone tufas reward power endurance, sandstone reward layback technique. A 5.10a granite face climb in Yosemite and a 5.10a sandstone overhang in Red Rocks demand totally different skill sets. Conversion tables exist because we need a common language, but they should be treated as approximations.
Bouldering Has Its Own System
For bouldering, the V-scale (V0 through V17) and the Fontainebleau scale (3 through 9A) are used instead of the systems above. These don't map directly to roped climbing grades because boulder problems prioritize raw difficulty over endurance. If you're comparing boulder grades, use our bouldering V-scale converter instead.
Related Climbing Calculations
Once you know your grade, plan your route logistics with our climbing rope length calculator, check your belayer weight ratio, and assess carabiner load ratings. For approach hikes, see the hiking time calculator.