Percentage of climbers by grade bouldering Feb 14, 2024 · Understanding Bouldering Grades Bouldering grades stand as a universal metric, offering climbers a standardized means to assess the difficulty of boulder problems, whether encountered outdoors in natural landscapes or within the controlled environments of climbing gyms. I live in Europe, I started climbing in January 2019 (10 months). Climbers can use these systems to track their progress as they work toward building new skill sets. Nov 22, 2021 · C. Some Australian guys calculated a little while back (based on numbers of people climbing at each grade) that each grade was approximately 2. The data includes information on the date of the climb, the grade, the climbing area/route, and a variety of other notes on climbing style. The two most common boulder grading systems are the V-Scale and the Fontainebleau Scale. It's a common theme for people to spout off about grades until they get out of their local climbing bubble and realize the grades are incredibly subjective. There exists a myriad of different belay devices to choose from, with varying techniques and safety mechanisms (Fig 3, 4 3 days ago · The number of people participating in climbing and bouldering in England increased in 2024. g. Nov 13, 2023 · This article provides an in-depth look at the Yosemite Decimal System, a widely-used grading system for rock climbing and hiking routes. Sep 16, 2021 · Whether you’re new to bouldering or a seasoned climber, bouldering grades (aka bouldering ratings) can be a confusing topic. As a beginner rock climber or foreign climber trying to climb in America, you'll want to become familiar with the Yosemite Decimal System, or YDS. May 31, 2022 · Everyone has a maximum grade limit for rock climbing. Today, we have women dominating the climbing world. Apr 29, 2025 · This Rock Climbing Statistics report compiles the latest participation figures, market valuations, and performance metrics to deliver a rigorously data-driven snapshot. Dec 5, 2022 · Then using my knowledge of climbing, I decided to split the bouldering grades into four categories, beginner (V-Easy to V2), intermediate (V3 to V6), advanced (V7 to V10), and elite (V11+). org. As a beginner climber, you are likely noticing your skill level improving quickly and proof of that is in the bouldering grades that you keep leveling up through. WI6) and the identical AI ("alpine ice") system (e. Only a small percentage of climbers ever reach this grade consistently. Global Gyms: Worldwide, there are over 20,000 climbing gyms. Jun 25, 2025 · Climbing level In both lead climbing and bouldering, the most common highest grade climbed was in the 6a-6c+ range, representing between 45 and 50 percent of respondents. you what your true potential really is. Nov 22, 2021 · Is a 6 percent grade steep? What is 4th class climbing? What is a 515 in climbing? What grade is speed climbing route? What climbing grade is advanced? What is professional climbing grade? How long does it take to climb 5. Marj and her husband, Francis, were leading environmental activists in the mid-1900s, and remained at the epicenter of Yosemite’s early climbing years. ), typically up to V17 for the most difficult challenges. Key Sep 8, 2010 · This is likely due to an increase in Alaskan climbing as well as in increase in the proportion of accidents being better reported (although I still suspect a rather significant percentage of mountain accidents go unreported in Alaska compared to other states). Cyclists love to swap stories about conquering steep hills, often throwing around numbers like “8%” or “12%” to describe a climb. This data is helpful to prevent injuries, and better prepare your finger strength for various climbing grades from medium (v5-v10), to difficult (v10-v14), to elite (v1 Jun 19, 2023 · What’s a Healthy Bodyweight? As a veteran coach, having worked with hundreds of climbers over the past 30+ years, I believe that the most reasonable body fat percentage for peak climbing performance ranges from 6 to 12 percent for men and 10 to 18 percent for women. The data is for a five rep max. Whether you're a seasoned climber or just starting out, understanding this system can help you track progress and select problems that match your Mar 29, 2020 · Find rock climbing routes, photos, and guides for every state, along with experiences and advice from fellow climbers. Bouldering grades are the assigned difficulty ratings to boulder problems. americanalpineclub. nu. This guide explains the different grading systems used in rock climbing and offers tips to level up your skills. Aid climbing grades take time to stabilize as successive repeats of aid climbing routes can materially reduce the grade. Jun 5, 2023 · If you have done any climbing, either in the gym or outside, you will most likely have run into the concept of climbing grades. Please keep in mind that being stuck within this grade range is normal during your first month (s) of bouldering. Margo Hayes became the first woman to climb 5. nu data. Since this story was published in our print edition, Angy This page provide links to our analyses of competition climbing, including data science-based grades and rankings for competition boulder problems, and competition boulderers. 1. Climbing has become an increasingly popular sport, and the number of accidents is increasing in parallel. The demands of the problems become more strenuous with them requiring climbers to use smaller holds, fewer fingers, climb longer sustained sequence or short more powerful sequences. The goal is to reach the top of a boulder problem or route. The biggest difference is that bouldering doesn’t require you to wear a rope or harness, and you aren’t climbing higher than 12 – 15 feet. Climbing, like many sports, has its own metrics for measuring difficulty. The analysis shows the most important factor in getting better at outdoor rock climbing is going climbing outside (crazy!), followed by several varieties of finger strength and upper-body strength. Dec 18, 2023 · Climbing is a sport in which participants ascend natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. 15a with La Rambla. Apr 27, 2025 · The climbing grade 7c can be confusing if you’re used to a different grading system. We aim at describing the characteristics of climbing accidents leading to severe (multisystem) trauma using data from the International Alpine However for those climbing at hard grades, they usually want to tick said accomplishment. Please visit them on the web at www. It starts at V0 (easiest) and increases numerically (V1, V2, etc. Invented in France, and adopted for its simplicity, it spread to become the most Dec 9, 2024 · Learn the ins and outs of climbing grades with our comprehensive guide! Understand the differences between systems, how they measure difficulty, and what they mean for climbers of all levels. The clustering of grades/weights in the third graph is really interesting. Then when i moved to uni, most people only climbed low to mid 6s and V3/4. Do you think it's lack of trying harder climbs, genetics or something else. The demands of the routes become more strenuous with them requiring climbers to use smaller holds, fewer fingers, climb longer sustained sequences or short more powerful sequences. Dec 22, 2021 · We can then do a cumulative summary on these Top Consistent Climbing Grades, from easiest to hardest, and take a percentage of the whole. Dec 9, 2019 · In your post I'm assuming you mean regularly on sight of these grades. Aug 30, 2017 · Every now and then we bump in to interesting little titbits in our data: milestone grades are one of these! In theory we would expect people’s best grades to follow some sort of distribution but it appears the population of climbers “who train” (i. Mar 21, 2023 · Explore the crucial role of finger strength in climbing performance across various grades and genders, and learn how to assess and improve your own finger strength for better climbing success. Bouldering Grade Systems Bouldering grade systems are a Learn about climbing and bouldering ratings, including how route difficulty is measured and the difference between a rating and a grade. General timelines indicate that from bouldering day one, getting to V4 can take a year, V5 two years, V6 three years, and five years to V7. Adam Ondra’s bouldering flash grade We applied the flash grade model to Adam Ondra’s bouldering ascent data on 8a. Aug 24, 2025 · Understanding the Yosemite Decimal System: A Guide to Rock Climbing Grades in North America. The people I know who progress pretty quickly at lower grades on rope split time between bouldering and roped climbing-- progressively shifting towards more bouldering as a percentage of training as their roped climbing grades have gone up. #2. Mar 20, 2023 · Find rock climbing routes, photos, and guides for every state, along with experiences and advice from fellow climbers. Many elite climbers are near the low end of these ranges. It is the act of managing the rope to which the climber is attached to protect them from large or dangerous falls. Growth in Asia: Asia’s climbing industry is expanding at an impressive rate of 22%. So my ability didn't much improve until i was able to find some more 'hard climbers'. Top 5 International Climbing Grade Rating Systems If you’re climbing abroad, you should be familiar with other systems, including the French grading system, the UIAA grading system, and a handful of The above appears courtesy of the American Alpine Journal. Jul 9, 2019 · The AAC, in partnership with more than a dozen supporting organizations, is proud to release the first-ever State of Climbing Report, a comprehensive quantitative look at the American climbing community and its impact. 10, etc. I've noticed that most climbers I meet never make it past this level even when they've been climbing for a while. A lot of people are wondering what weight would be best for climbing or if they need to adjust their calories, so here it is. Advanced Climbing: V9-V11 V9 and V10 are where local legends are made. At a guess, I would say 5% or less climbers operate at 7a or above. Looking at my college competition circuit divisions (which is a very small and non-representative sample), you could say that most men and women climb in the intermediate and advanced categories with roughly 50% climbing in advanced and open and 50% climbing in intermediate and beginner. In this article, we will break down the various grading systems used in indoor climbing, including V-scale for bouldering and Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) for roped First-free-ascents that set new grade milestones are important events in rock climbing history, and are listed below. Nov 4, 2009 · Find rock climbing routes, photos, and guides for every state, along with experiences and advice from fellow climbers. 12 climbers generally share certain strengths and skills that aspirants to the grade often need to consciously train. V2-) indicates a climb being on the easier, or “softer,” side of the grade. Now climbing 6B/6C boulders and sometimes even almost a full 7A sport May 31, 2025 · V8 is entering advanced territory. Main outcome measures: percentage of injured climbers seeking medical care, providers Jul 26, 2019 · How Long Until the Next V Scale? Tip of the day — V grades are relative and can depend on the setters in the gym. Understanding percent grade can help you gauge a climb’s difficulty at a glance Injury in Bouldering versus Rope Climbing[2] Belaying (as well as finding a reliable belay partner) is an additional skill required when climbing with ropes. Aug 18, 2017 · In this article we go over the nuances of rock climbing grades, indoor and outdoor, what they mean, and how to understand them. There is a range of different types of bouldering May 22, 2013 · If you're at all interested in cycling uphill you would have heard people refer to a climb's gradient (or steepness) as a percentage. Maybe with filters only including more than 10 in either discipline in the last 2 years or so. Each scale brings its Suppose you have a better understanding of the nuances of rock climbing ratings. Mar 28, 2025 · As the grade increases in climbing, the complexity increases. 12 and up would be affected much, aside from maybe a few percentage point bumps for the percentiles Oct 13, 2022 · The latest rock climbing and bouldering statistics regarding accidents, injuries, deaths, demographics, industry size, and popularity Mar 22, 2014 · In reply to ribtech: In the UK, a large percentage of climbers don't climb sport routes at all outside. Even those who don't care at all about performance on boulders. Bouldering grades are the level of difficulty that a route is. Apr 2, 2021 · We compiled data from 600+ rock climbers to find sport-specific strength and endurance standards that can help you know where to focus your training efforts. Climbing grading systems are an integral component of our sport. Check out the results. Interventions: none. Let’s get to it! Mar 30, 2023 · Rock climbing grades Behind the grades: Grades are often debated in climbing because they aim to measure difficulty in objective terms, but the many variables in what makes a climb hard, and who is doing the climbing, make objectivity impossible. Multiply the decimal by 100 to calculate the percentage. Participants: rock climbers who sustained a climbing-related injury during the prior 24 months. Setting: web-based survey. 89 between the ratings of the best bouldering and top-rope routes that people climbed, evidence that bouldering and climbing ability are strongly related, and suggesting that attempting to compare grades between them is reasonable. Criteria for inclusion: aged ≥18 years; participation in rock climbing at least 4 times per year in the United States. Mar 14, 2023 · Tl;dr: This analysis shows that weight, gender, height, and ape index do not play a significant role in a person’s maximum sport climbing grade or bouldering grade. I consider myself and other climbers a VX climber if they climbed the grade 5 times. It also showed an example of someone climbing V10 with similar bodyweight-finger strength ratios as me. If you don’t understand what the grades on boulder problems mean, how boulder problems are graded, or even what that “V” next to the number stands for, I’ll try to clear up your confusion. Aug 30, 2010 · Easy enough to do roughly. Both new and seasoned climbers struggle with grading systems that is why I have created the bouldering grades guide and comparison table. The harder the route, the higher the grade. Of course a large amount of variation due to technique is not captured, but that limitation is true for every strength test in climbing. so all that does is shift the frequency distribution down to the left and thus the percentile ranks for the lower climbs, I honestly don't think anything 5. Jan 28, 2022 · Climbing grades describe the objective difficulty of a climb and are organized into grading systems based on the climbing style and the region. You may be visiting different gyms in your Jun 23, 2024 · Indoor Climbing Grades Explained Are you new to indoor climbing and feeling overwhelmed by all the different grading systems? Understanding climbing grades is essential for tracking your progress and choosing appropriate routes. In conclusion, understanding sport climbing grades is essential for climbers to accurately assess the difficulty level of a route and challenge themselves accordingly. In outdoor settings, two prominent grading scales, the V Scale and Font Scale, take center stage. Indeed, as there are many climbing styles, many grading systems have emerged throughout climbing history to cover the different types of movement and technologies climbers use to ascend varied terrains like rock, ice, and snow. Ratings used internationally today include no less than seven… Outdoors is rock/projects. 10 A? The YDS also includes ratings for mountaineering and other types of climbing, but these are expressed in a different format than the rock climbing grades, using Roman numerals and other symbols. Today, we will take a very similar approach and look at the highest climbing grade mastered by more than 30,000 rock climbers (both male and female). We have analysed the last 18 years (2008-2025) of IFSC bouldering competitions to find out which climbers are the best, and which boulder problems have been the hardest. 1-4, 5/6, 7/8/9, 10+ appear to require significant gains to move between, but the climbers within each of these groups have very similar numbers. This will give us a percentile associated with each grade for that crag specifically. 5 different boulder problems of the same grade is enough to be a VX climber. Apr 11, 2025 · As the grade increases in climbing, the complexity increases. But I checked this data with lattice MyFingers and it says me finger strength is well above average for my bouldering grade of V7. Dec 12, 2018 · What is the share of climbers who can send 8a or 9a? In our previous post, we have looked at the distribution of grades across almost 3 million rock climbing ascents in the 8a. This self evaluation can tell. Jul 25, 2022 · You’ll be sure to see the YDS being used in indoor rock climbing walls and outdoor climbing routes alike in North America — and occasionally in Canada. The French Rock Climbing Grade System The French ranking of outdoor, bolted, and sport climbing routes is the dominant climbing grading system to abide by. Getting mileage is especially important in the beginner stages because it helps you adjust View all posts → FlashGrade FlashGrade is a mathematical grading system for climbers! It leverages probabilistic data modeling to accurately assess the skill level of climbers based on their ascent data. The detailed chronicle, which can be accessed online at the link below, explores not only demographics of the climbing community, but the community—and the industry’s—impact on the larger American economy and the environment. Hi, I was interested to see how weight pull-ups correlates to bouldering grades, so I sifted through the data from the last r/climbharder survey and plotted it out. Nov 19, 2025 · The complete climbers guide to bouldering grades is here! Everything you need to know from history to training tips to send your project! Typically, I tend to like compression moves on steep overhang as they suit my climbing style more - there are balancy slab problems several grades below my hardest send that are probably years beyond me. Dec 5, 2022 · 5. Convert North American climbing grades to UK and European scales, and compare bouldering V-grades to roped climbs. May 24, 2023 · As a result, we can now analyze the climbs of tens of thousands of people—hundreds of thousands of climbs in total. The data trove also has information from some climbers on their birthdays, heights, etc. I'd agree thats about where I perceive being better than average/ the start of "harder climbing" as being. If anything I'm surprised by how well it correlated with the climbers' true redpoint grade. Visits: In 2020, North American climbing gyms saw over 151 million visits. AI6). Mar 10, 2024 · Note: These numbers represent the maximum value (percentage of body weight) achieved in a one-arm pull on a 20mm edge within 7-10 seconds, which is the protocol discussed in the Finger Strength Vs Climbing Ability video (7 seconds) and Emil’s and Stefano’s videos (10s). Dec 1, 2019 · In your post I'm assuming you mean regularly on sight of these grades. While rope climbers use the Yosemite Decimal System (5. 3x harder than the previous grade (Bear in mind all grades are subjective so you have to take the whole thing with a grain of salt, but it's interesting nonetheless). In ice climbing, the most widely used grading system is the WI ("water ice") system (e. V2+) will designate a bouldering problem being on the harder side of the grade, while a minus (i. Feb 17, 2014 · There is a correlation of 0. I and II: Half a day or less for the technical (5th class) portion of… Read More »Climbing Grade Here is a chart of the most popular professional climbers, their height and weight. 9, 5. Like stepping on an uncalibrated bathroom scale, use V grades as a benchmark for … Jul 18, 2024 · Climbing Gyms and Participation: Commercial Gyms: The US hosts about 614 commercial rock climbing gyms. Aug 24, 2022 · Knowing the year that each user started climbing, I can easily calculate how long it took each user to climb a specific grade, and averaging through the grades will produce the average number of years required to climb each grade. Many areas in the world have developed different systems. The actual data of competitive climbers: INTRODUCTION In this article, we analyze the main systems used to classify the difficulty of climbing on different terrains such as rock, ice, and mixed terrain, trying to offer a starting point to create a minimum of historical and critical knowledge of those that are commonly known as "Scale of Difficulty. In bouldering, 7c usually means V9. In that case, whether for indoor climbing grades or outdoor climbing grades, this may provide you with a bit more insight into choosing climbs, and it will also make it much simpler for you to talk about climbing with other wall or mountain climbers. The higher the grade, the longer it takes to get to the next one. Climb better by learning climbing grades. The most commonly used Jan 31, 2025 · Climbing grades can be subjective and erratic. National Climbing Classification System (USA): NCCS grades, often called “commitment grades,” indicate the time investment in a route for an “average” climbing team. Few recreational climbers will reach V8. While sport climbing has dominated grade milestones since the mid-1980s (i. Moved PermanentlyThe document has moved here. I was wondering where people (on average) max out on their grade. Rock climbing grades are a means of estimating the difficulty of a climb. View the inaugural report . FlashGrade tool We have developed a simple Go to your local wall, work out the percentages of routes at each grade and that will roughly correlate to the climbing population at that wall, for that wall's grades. the ones who come to see us!) gravitate towards classic milestone grades. This creates a unique environment which a single test cannot capture. Share Add a Comment Sort by: Best Open comment sort options Best GomenNaWhy • Does anyone have an estimate on what percentage of climbing can climb v9? I've always wondered what the breakdown of grade abilities is by percentile and I feel this would be the best place to ask. e. Ashima Shiraishi sent Horizon (V15), and then three months later took down another V15 in Australia, Sleepy Rave. [Ed. " Too often, the gradations of the difficulties are used in an very confused way, and Sep 1, 2017 · Design: retrospective cross-sectional study. A climb might have an average gradient of 3% or 5% or even 10% but how is gradient calculated? And how challenging are various gradients? In the first part of this series, we answer these questions and set the scene for more detailed discussions of how gradient Climbing Grade calculator for determining finger strength needed for different climbing grades based on research using the Grippul. This article breaks down what 7c means, how it compares across different scales, and how to understand where it fits in your climbing progression. It consists of several different disciplines including bouldering, lead climbing, speed climbing Oct 4, 2017 · It is well known that climbing (both bouldering and sport climbing) is a sport that is affected by power to weight ratios. Probably less than 30% of UK climbers 'work' sports routes at any grade, never mind 8a. 13a or 5. For this reason there are many who When i started climbing, i started in Ratho, where there were a lot of strong climbers, so i quickly got 'good' leading 7a and bouldering V6/7. 13c, depending on whether you’re using the French or the UIAA system. ), the world of bouldering (at least in North America) has its own distinctive grading scale: the V-scale. Oct 15, 2021 · From sport climbing to bouldering, different types of rock climbing each have their own system, known as bouldering grades, to assess a route’s overall difficulty. You aren't trying to get sponsored and you aren't doing groundbreaking ascents so who cares about the grades? That being said getting a percentage amount of people that RP grades between sport climbing and bouldering of athletes who do both also would be interesting. The American Alpine Club recently released an extensive analysis of the entire climbing industry, known as the Climbing Report. The UKC logbook figures will give a much greater sample coverage though. Youth Participation: Approximately 67% of climbing gym users are under Oct 25, 2017 · Sure, it’s been a slow evolution, but even tiny drops of water can erode granite given enough time. The scale helps climbers assess the complexity and technical demands of a climb, guiding their preparation and skill development. In sport climbing, it often means 5. are now the highest grades), milestones for modern traditional-climbing, free-solo-climbing, onsighted & flashed-ascents, are also listed. These numbers refer to percent grade, a key concept in cycling that measures how steep a road or trail is. Jul 3, 2025 · Discover all statistics and data on Mountain climbing worldwide now on statista. Jul 13, 2021 · As I’ve learned through my own experience, days of studying high-end performance climber’s training logs, climbing with elite climbers, and reading dozens of climbing training books, you’ll improve faster and with better results if you regularly aim to climb just below your limit—right around 80 percent of your maximum ability. How hard is 6a climbing? Mar 17, 2023 · Tips for V1 – V2 Boulder Progression Here are some tips for those struggling to get past the beginner grades. What are Bouldering Grades? Essentially, they are a combination of numbers and letters that tell you Climbing isn't about who does the best or who climbs the hardest. The biggest factor that bodyweight affects is the percentage of bodyweight that we’re able to hang on a climbing hold – simply put, if you reduce body fat and retain lean muscle mass you’ll be able to hang poorer holds for longer. Bouldering Grades Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that is performed without the use of ropes or harnesses. Sep 9, 2022 · Farquhar, an active member of the Sierra Club, belonged to a small group of climbers who learned modern rock-climbing techniques from Robert Underhill, who imported them from Europe. What's the average climbing grade where people plateau? As not every person on earth can be Caldwell, Honnold or any other professional climber. How do boulder grades work? How are boulder problems graded? What is the difference between V Grades and Font Grades? These are all questions I will answer. The Darth Grader calculator offers a more systemic approach to grading routes. Results Data Source Mar 9, 2023 · Bouldering is often likened to rock climbing in that you’re, in some way, scaling a wall or cliff with your hands and feet. Problems are complex puzzles that might take multiple sessions to figure out, and they’ll exploit any weakness in your climbing. It's the system used to grade the technical difficulty of rock climbs. Get the mileage Mileage is what climbers use to refer to being on the wall. . E4, high sport 7s, bouldering in font 7s comfortably I'd put as being a proper "hard" climber, and normally time served. Go to your local wall, work out the percentages of routes at each grade and that will roughly correlate to the climbing population at that wall, for that wall's grades. Essentially, it’s rock climbing stripped down into its rawest form. However, if you were part of Jun 23, 2024 · Remember that climbing is a journey, and each climb, regardless of the grade, offers an opportunity for growth and improvement. com! The V-Scale is a grading system used to measure the difficulty of bouldering problems. What is a V2 in climbing? Bouldering grades: V-Scale Occasionally, a plus (i. Below you'll find a comprehensive explanation of the different climbing rating systems. awa rgwgwes xbhb gwityu coxgnz ydb icmxi yvmuvca dcmn quru sqjkw vcbhsuc wykk rkw mbpgqg