Climbing Grade Converter
Convert between V-scale bouldering grades and Font, and between YDS and French route grades, both directions.
Bouldering: V-scale ↔ Font
| V-scale | Font |
|---|---|
| V0 | 4 |
| V1 | 5 |
| V2 | 5+ |
| V3 | 6A/6A+ |
| V4 | 6B/6B+ |
| V5 | 6C/6C+ |
| V6 | 7A |
| V7 | 7A+ |
| V8 | 7B/7B+ |
| V9 | 7C |
| V10 | 7C+ |
Routes: YDS ↔ French
| YDS | French |
|---|---|
| 5.8 | 5b |
| 5.9 | 5c |
| 5.10a | 6a |
| 5.10b | 6a+ |
| 5.10c | 6b |
| 5.10d | 6b+ |
| 5.11a | 6c |
| 5.11b | 6c |
| 5.11c | 6c+ |
| 5.11d | 7a |
| 5.12a | 7a+ |
| 5.12b | 7b |
| 5.12c | 7b+ |
| 5.12d | 7c |
| 5.13a | 7c+ |
These conversions are approximate. Published grade-comparison charts disagree by a notch here and there, gym grades tend to run soft compared to outdoor grades, and grades from different setters or areas never line up perfectly.
How it works
Pick a grade in either system and the converter shows its rough match on the other scale. Bouldering uses two number lines, the V-scale (V0 through V10 and up) and the Fontainebleau or "Font" scale (4 through 8A and up), which are common in the US and in Europe respectively. Route climbing has its own pair: the Yosemite Decimal System (5.8, 5.9, 5.10a...) used in North America, and the French scale (5b, 6a, 7a...) used almost everywhere else.
Worked example: say a gym topo lists a boulder problem as V4. Looking that up on the chart gives Font 6B or 6B+, since a single V-grade often spans two Font grades. Go the other way and pick Font 7C, and the converter lands on V9. For routes, a 5.11d in Yosemite notation converts to French 7a, and if a European guidebook lists a route as French 6a, that maps back to YDS 5.10a. None of these are exact equivalences, they are the closest published match.
FAQ
Why does one V-grade sometimes match two Font grades?
The two scales were built independently and don't divide difficulty into the same number of steps in the same places. V3 and V4 each straddle a Font grade and a Font+ grade, so the honest answer is a range rather than a single value. Treat the match as "about this hard," not a decimal-precision conversion.
Is a V-grade harder than a route grade at the "same" number?
They're not directly comparable even after conversion, because they measure different things. Bouldering rewards short bursts of power on a handful of hard moves, while route grades factor in stamina over dozens of moves and how long you can hang on. A strong boulderer and a strong route climber can each struggle on the other's specialty at a grade that sounds easy on paper.
Do gym grades match outdoor grades?
Not reliably. Gym setters tend to grade a little soft, especially at the easier end, so many climbers find their first outdoor session at "their gym grade" feels noticeably harder. Treat gym grades as a training reference, and expect outdoor rock, especially at a new crag, to humble you a notch or two.
Should I chase higher grades as a beginner?
Not early on. Technique at V2 beats thrashing your way up V4 with bad footwork, and the climbers who progress fastest are usually the ones who spend time on easier problems cleaning up their movement before pushing the number higher. The grade is a rough label for other people's benefit; your own climbing improves from moving well, not from a digit.
For more on how grading works and why a number only tells part of the story, see bouldering grades explained, how climbing grades work, and what projecting means.