Comparison of International Rock Climbing Grades

Comparing Grades Across Different Systems

Grades are given to each rock-climb route so that future climbers can decide whether any particular route is within his or her rock-climbing capabilities. Ireland and the UK use the same grading system. This uses an exposure grade, along with a technical grade, to give an overall grade for a given route. The Adjectival description indicates the exposure of the route; and the Technical grade gives an indication of the difficulty of the hardest move on the route.

Technical grades are not usually given on "Very Difficult" routes or below. On harder routes, one will see a technical grade, which ranges from 3c to 7a. So, for a given exposure grade, you can have a range of technical grades, i.e. routes which have similar protection, but different levels of technical difficulty. For example, VS 4b would be exposed, with the hardest technical move (the crux) being a 4b, whereas VS 5a would be a harder route but would afford better protection placements.

A long route may be made up of several pitches, with the hardest technical move on each pitch having its own grade. The entire route is then given an overall grade. For example, a very popular climb in Lough Barra, Co. Donegal is 'Tarquin's Groove', it is 108 metres long and has 5 pitches (4b, 4a, 4a, 4a, 4a). Its overall grade is given as Hard Severe (HS). The table below is not absolute and grades can at times be subjective. However, most climbers agree that several ascents of a route must be made by other climbers to enable an accurate grade for the route.

A comparison with international grades is given, but should be treated with circumspection. (Horizontal lines have been left out deliberately because of the difficulty in making definitive matches).