Mountaineering Grades: Decoding the Different Systems

There is a seemingly endless amount of grading systems that are used to judge the difficulty of a mountaineering expedition. In this guide, I break down the main ones so that you know how difficult your climb is!

So, what are the mountaineering grading systems? The main mountaineering grading systems including the French Mountaineering Grades (going from F “easy” to ED “Extremely Difficult), the Yosemite Decimal System (going from Class 1 to Class 5 terrain), and the National Climbing Classification System (going from Grade I to Grade VII).

To help make everything easier, I’ve broken the entire thing down into the following chart:

French Mountaineering		Yosemite Decimal System		National Climbing Classification
F	Easy route requiring mostly walking	Class 1	Walking on steep terrain, with no hands required	Grade I	Less than half a day of technical climbing
PD	A mostly easy route with some clearly defined technical sections.	Class 2	Easy scrambling with some hands required for balance. A fall is fairly unlikely.	Grade II	Half a day of technical climbing
AD	A more difficult route with sustained, moderately technical sections	Class 3	Moderate scrambling for sustained periods. A fall will have fairly serious consequences.	Grade III	Most of the day will be involved in the technical portion of the climb.
D	A challenging mountain with hard sections of rock, ice, and snow	Class 4	Difficult scrambling in areas where a fall will result in death.	Grade IV	A full day of technical climbing, with difficult of at least 5.7
TD	Very difficult. These routes have sustained sections of no-fall terrain requiring high-level rock and ice climbing.	Class 5	Technical rock climbing requiring a rope, harness, and belayer.	Grade V	An overnight stay might be necessary
ED	The most difficult mountains in the world. Dangerous, long, and highly challenging climbs.			Grade VI	A multi-day climb
				Grade VII	An extremely remote, multi-day climb in an alpine environment.

Which system you use will vary based on what you’re climbing, the guidebook you purchase, and what the local mountaineers use. Over time, the French system has begun to gain more popularity in North America, while some areas (like Scotland or Alaska) have specific regional systems that you should familiarize yourself with before climbing in the area.

Mountain Climbing Ratings

Mountain climbing grades are a murky, sometimes difficult-to-understand system that attempts to judge how hard a specific peak is to summit. In doing so, they take into account a variety of factors:

Length: The longer a route, the more time you will need to spend climbing it.
Technicality of moves: Harder routes obviously involve harder individual moves that need to be performed.
Sustained difficulty: A route that has several hundred meters of difficult climbing will be harder than a route that only has a few meters of it.
Exposure: Exposure basically means how high up you are. The more exposure a route has, the higher the consequences are if you fall, making it harder to climb.
Danger: Other elements like avalanche risk, rockfall, or poor conditions can make a route more challenging to climb.

As you can see, there are a lot of different things that need to be taken into account before you can judge how difficult a mountain climb is. This is the reason that there isn’t any one centrally accepted system; different regions have developed different systems based on the specific challenges presented by their mountains.

A Caution Against Relying on Grades

Before I get too much into the guide, I want to offer a word of caution against placing too much faith in the grade of a route. Because there’s so much variation, and so many factors that need to be built in, grades can sometimes be misleading. Instead, I would advise using specific route reports to get a more in-detail idea of what you’re going to be up against when you’re climbing a mountain.

This is because a simple rating doesn’t cover all of the intricacies of mountaineering. Say, for example, you’re an experienced ice climber, but you have less practice on exposed rock. If you try to climb a mountain with difficult rock-climbing sections, you might find yourself surprised at how strenuous the route is. Reading reports beforehand can give you more of an insight into the specifics of the climb.

French Mountaineering Grades

The French mountaineering grading system was one of the first ones developed and, as of today, stands as one of the most comprehensive and widely used systems out there. It groups mountains into six different levels:

F: Facile (Easy): Rock or snow scrambling that can often be climbed without a rope
PD: Peu Difficile (A bit difficult): Some technical movements and more challenging glacier travel
AD: Assez Difficile (Fairly Difficult): Steep climbing, snow slopes about 50 degrees; a fair amount of alpine experience is necessary.
D: Difficile (Difficult): Sustained, difficult rock or ice climbing
TD: Tres Difficile (Very Difficult): The entire route is made up of challenging sections
ED: Extremement Difficile (Extremely Difficult): The hardest mountains in the world. Technical skill and a high degree of danger are involved.

The French system is mainly based around the difficulty of the hardest sections in the route, and how sustained those sections are. It is designed specifically for mountaineering and alpine routes.

F: Facile (Easy)

Facile (easy) routes are the most basic of mountaineering expeditions and can be thought of more as hikes or scrambles. You will rarely have to use your hands, and you most likely won’t need a rope on any of these routes.

A mountain graded facile can likely be ascended with no technical equipment. Don’t let this fool you, though! Some of these routes can still feature enough exposure to hurt you if you fall, so don’t take them too lightly.

PD: Peu Difficile (A bit difficult)

These routes can also be thought of as ‘not very hard’ for people with a good understanding of alpine techniques. The majority of the route will likely be walking or easy scrambling/glacier travel.

Technical sections, when encountered, will likely require the use of a rope and protection. However, these sections will be easily identifiable and will not be very sustained, so they don’t present that much of a challenge.

If you know what you’re doing, Peu Difficile mountains can provide a pleasant, relaxing climbing day with just enough excitement to keep you interested.

AD: Assez Difficile (Fairly Difficult)

AD routes are where it starts to get serious. Here, you can expect to have to rope up more often and for more sustained sections of climbing/glacier travel. The moves will become more technical, and route finding will become more of an issue.

I would suggest that you have quite a few PD mountains under your belt before you venture onto an AD climb. Additionally, bring a more experienced partner with you.

D: Difficile (Difficult)

On difficult routes, you can expect technical route-finding and good rope-management skills to be paramount to your success. Here, the glacier travel is more technical, the routes are steeper, and the climbing becomes more sustained.

Difficile routes are where you also need to start seriously worrying about uncontrollable dangers like avalanches and rock fall. You should also be comfortable enough to move on technical rock and ice without falling, as the quality of your protection might be suspect.

TD: Tres Difficile (Very Difficult)

Tres difficile mountains feature persistent, technical, and dangerous climbing for nearly the entirety of your time on the route. You’re going to face a variety of obstacles including steep rock, difficult ice, and knifes-edge ridges.

To take on one of these mountains, you should be a seasoned mountaineer with good knowledge of trad climbing, snow/ice anchors, and emergency CPR/rescue techniques.

ED: Extremement Difficile (Extremely Difficult)

ED mountains make up some of the most difficult climbs in the world. You will have to perform challenging rock and ice climbing maneuvers in no-fall terrain for sustained periods of time, while dealing with avalanche and rockfall danger.

As the limits of human potential continue to be pushed, some peaks have been broken down into the subcategories of ED1, ED2, and ED3. The higher the number goes, the greater technicality of climbing you can expect to have to do.

Yosemite Decimal System

The YDS (Yosemite Decimal System) is one of the oldest measurement tools used for mountain climbing. However, it has its limitations in terms of mountaineering, due to the fact that it doesn’t account for ice, snow, or winter conditions.

This scale has 5 difficulty levels:

Class 1: Walking on easy terrain
Class 2: Some hands-on scrambling is required for balance. Fall danger is low
Class 3: Lots of hands-on scrambling, with some difficulty moves. A fall could result in a broken bone and maybe death.
Class 4: Sustained, difficult scrambling on exposed terrain. A fall will kill you.
Class 5: Technical rock climbing. A rope and belayer are required.

The YDS was developed for rock climbers, and that’s where it’s mainly used today. Still, knowing the grading criteria for it can help you gain a better understanding of the terrain that you’ll be up against when you’re mountaineering; furthermore, if you’re scrambling or doing non-technical mountain climbing, there’s a good chance that you’ll need to know the YDS.

Class 1

Class 1 scrambling is basically just steep hiking. You may need to contend with unstable footing and strenuous uphill sections, but you likely won’t find yourself on any technical terrain. All you need to perform a Class 1 scramble is a reasonable level of fitness.

It’s not an exact comparison, but a Class 1 scramble can be seen as similar to a ‘Facile’ route under the French system.

Class 2

Class 2 scrambles involve some hands-on moves and some exposure. These are still pretty easy, and can likely be performed by anyone with a high degree of fitness and a good head for heights. However, they shouldn’t be taken too lightly; a fall on a class 2 scramble could still result in broken bones.

Class 2 scrambles are a great way to build up your confidence and get used to moving on moderate terrain without any protection in place. Because of this, they can be a great introduction into the world of alpinism.

Class 3

Class 3 scrambles are where it starts to get serious. Here, you will have sustained scrambling in areas where a fall could result in a broken bone or worse. You may also have to contend with brief sections of more difficult moves or greater exposure.

On class 3 scrambles, there will be sections where a fall could be fatal. The terrain is rarely difficult enough to require a rope, but you should proceed with extreme caution and make sure that you’re comfortable at all times. A good amount of experience on class 2 scrambles should be gained before you venture onto one of these routes.

Class 4

A class 4 route is one that toes thee fuzzy line between scrambling and free soloing. Here, you’re performing challenging moves in no-fall terrain for sustained periods of time. Poor rock quality, difficult route finding, and high degrees of exposure may also have to be contended with.

Class 4 scrambles are no joke, and it’s very easy to die on one. An avid scrambler myself, I put in 4-5 seasons before I felt comfortable venturing into fourth class scrambling terrain. Your life is in your own hands on these routes, so I would be very carful.

Class 5

Class 5 terrain is technical rock climbing. Here, unless you’re one of a handful of people whose comfortable free-soloing, you’ll need ropes and other gear to ensure your safety.

When climbing, routes are denoted on their difficulty by a number following the five, e.g. 5.x. The higher this number, the more difficult the climb is

Rock climbing can be broken down into a few categories:

5.1-5.5: Easy climbs with solid handholds and footholds. Almost anyone can climb at this level.
5.6-5.9: Progressively mor difficult climbs. Some experience and training may be required.
5.10-5.12: Difficult routes requiring a high degree of skill and strength to climb
5.12-5.15: Extremely technical climbing requiring lots of strength and practice.

National Climbing Classification System

In an effort to create one climbing grading system that could encompass all kinds of routes within the massively varied geography of the USA, the American Alpine Institute put forward the National Climbing Classification System (NCCS).

Unlike other systems, the NCCS mostly focusses on ‘commitment’ — the expected amount of time it takes to complete a route. In this way, it tries to standardize the difficulty of rock, ice, and snow routes, along with the different types of routes found in different parts of the country.

I’m not a huge fan of the NCCS, because I think it leaves out a lot of important details such as the approach difficulty and the specific degree of technical skill required. However, it can be good to use as a judge for how much gear/prep you’ll need to do before embarking to climb a certain peak.

This system has seven levels:

Grade I: Less than half a day of climbing is required for the technical portion of the route.
Grade II: Half a day of technical climbing
Grade III: Most of the day will be required for the technical portion of the route.
Grade IV: A full day of technical climbing, generally at least with a difficulty of 5.7 (or the equivalent snow/alpine grade)
Grade V: The route will likely require an overnight stay in the middle of the technical portion.
Grade VI: Two or more days of technical climbing
Grade VII: Several days/weeks of big wall-style climbing on remote alpine walls. See Meru.

Another issue I have with the NCCS is that it’s based around the capabilities of an ‘average’ climbing team, but it doesn’t delve too much into what this means. If you’re going to use the NCCS, I would recommend starting with a grade I or II route and measuring your own time against the ‘expected’ time given to see how you stack up.

Other Systems

We’ve now covered the three main grading systems that I think are relevant to mountaineer. However, there are some other systems out there that have been developed for specific geographical regions, or specific types of climbing, that are also good to know:

Russian Grading System

The Russian grading system was designed to take the standard UIAA technical grades and apply them to mountaineering routes. It’s mostly rock focussed.

1A: A non-technical route
1B: Some (1-3) pitches of easy roped climbing. Could be completed as a difficult scramble.
2A: Several pitches of easy roped climbing. A 1B, but more sustained
2B: A long multipitch route, with some pitches in the 5.2-5.5 (II-III on the UIAA scale) range
3A: A long route containing 1-3 pitches of 5.3 climbing
3B: 3-5 pitches of 5.3 climbing, contained within a full day multipitch route
4A: A full day route that includes at least one pitch of 5.5 climbing
4B: A full day route that includes multiple pitches of 5.5 climbing
5A: A multi-day climb that includes pitches of 5.5 climbing
5B: A multi-day climb with pitches as difficult as 5.7
6A-6B: Multi-day routes with climbing that is consistently harder than 5.5

Canadian Winter Commitment Grade

The Canadian Winter Commitment Grading system is mostly built around ice climbs located in the Rocky Mountains. As a local, I can attest to the fact that even the easiest routes here are no joke.

I-II: 1-2 pitches of climbing that are near the car. Some avalanche danger may be involved.
III: The approach plus the climb will take up most of your day. Winter travel skills like glacier techniques and avalanche prevention may be required.
IV: A multipitch route located in remote alpine terrain. The approach will take several hours in either direction, but may not be overly technical.
V: A route for which you will need to spend a full day in the alpine. Both the approach and the climbing require technical skill.
VI: A very long ice route that contains alpine hazards such as avalanches. Can potentially be done in a day, depending on your skill level.
VII: No consensus grading yet.

New Zealand Alpine System

The New Zealand system was built to accommodate for the poor rock quality and remoteness in the climbs. It aligns fairly well with the French system, but is a little more top-heavy; the lower grades surprise people with their difficult, while the higher grades are not quite world-class in terms of how challenging they are.

NZ 1: An easy scramble. A rope may be required for beginners or for glacier travel.
NZ 2: A class 3-4 scramble with snow and ice mixed in.
NZ 3: Longer, more sustained climbing, with technical tools required. Two ice axes will probably be needed.
NZ 4: Technical climbing. Good placement of rock protection and ice screws is required
NZ 5: Sustained technical climbing with ice up to WI 4/5
NZ 6: Long, technical sections of climbing with intermittent protection. Overnight stays might be required.
NZ 7L: Sustained, highly difficult rock and ice climbs. Multiple pitches of 5.10+/WI5+ climbing, with questionable protection.

Scottish Winter Grades

The Scottish system is unique in that it’s broken up into two rating levels: the overall difficulty of the route (denoted by a Roman numeral) and the difficulty of the crux (denoted by a number).

Route difficulties:

I: involves some snow gullies and moderately exposed ridges
II: Steep snow, but with few technical sections
III: A varied route that requires moderate rock, snow, and ice climbing
IV: Steeper routes with either vertical sections or sustained near-vertical climbing.
V: Sustained hard climbing on near-vertical rock or ice. Require difficult mixed climbing techniques.
VI: Long sections of vertical ice with difficult mixed-climbing moves required.
VII: Multiple pitches of technical WI6 ice climbing on dubious protection

The cruxes are graded on a system from 4-9:

4: Easy rock or ice; 5.5/WI2 climbing
5: Moderately difficult mixed climbing (think MI3)
6: Technical mixed climbing in the MI-5/6 range
7: Highly technical mixed climbing moves are required
8: Difficult mixed climbing on intermittent conditions
9: Highly challenging mixed climbing moves, often with poor protection

A Scottish grade will be expressed as IV, 6.

Alaska Grading System

Another geographical one, the Alaska system was designed to account for the remote and bitterly cold conditions found in this region. Outside of the state, you’ll rarely see this system used.

Grade 1: An easy route, with some minor glacier travel
Grade 2: A non-technical route with some dangers, including narrow ridges and intermittent weather
Grade 3: A moderate route with some technical climbing sections. A rope and ice axes are probably a good idea.
Grade 4: A hard route with more technical sections. Cornices, glaciers, and weather are all obstacles.
Grade 5: A serious mountaineering objective with sustained technical climbing and very few bivouac sites. Commitment is high.
Grade 6: Several thousand feet of technical, sustained climbing while dealing with exposure, commitment and weather.