Climbing/Grading
Many climbing routes have grades to calibrate the technical difficulty, and in some cases the risks, of the route to the climber. The first ascensionist can suggest a grade but it will be amended for the 'consensus view' of subsequent ascents. While many countries with a tradition of climbing developed their own grading systems, a small number of grading systems have become internationally dominant for each type of climbing, and which has led to the standardization of grading worldwide.[1]
Climbing grades can be applied to climbing routes, boulders, crags, and climbing areas. Use the appropriate grade tags based on the location type:
- Routes: Tag single routes mapped as
climbing=routeorclimbing=route_bottomwith aclimbing:grade:*=*tag. - Crags and Areas: Optionally tag
climbing=cragorclimbing=arealocations withclimbing:grade:*:min=*andclimbing:grade:*:max=*tags to indicate the grade range available.
Selecting a Grading System
Always use the grading system most commonly used in that location. Grades can be converted between systems within the same climbing style by rendering software. For detailed grade conversions between systems, refer to Wikipedia's climbing grade comparison tables. The following table lists established grading systems in OpenStreetMap:
| Grading System | Tag | Description | Example |
| French | climbing:grade:french=*
|
French numerical grading system one of the most dominant system. | 3, 4a, 7a+, 9c |
| UIAA | climbing:grade:uiaa=*
|
UIAA scale, popular in some parts of Europe. | 5+, 6, 8-, 10 |
| YDS | climbing:grade:yds_class=*
|
Yosemite Decimal System grading system used in North America. | 5.3, 5.11b, 5.14a |
| Saxon | climbing:grade:saxon=*
|
Saxon grading system, mainly used in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. | III, VIIb, XIIc |
| Norwegian | climbing:grade:norwegian=*
|
Nordic grading system used in the Scandinavians. | 4, 6-, 9+ |
| British | climbing:grade:british_traditional=*climbing:grade:british_adjectival=*
|
British E-grade system mainly used in Britain. | 6a E4 |
| Ewbank | climbing:grade:ewbank=*
|
Ewbank grading system used in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. | 7, 13, 41 |
| Polish | climbing:grade:polish=*
|
Polish grading system. | IV+, VI.2, VI.8+ |
| Font | climbing:grade:font=*
|
Fontainebleau grading system used in bouldering. | 6B+, 7A |
| Hueco / V-Scale | climbing:grade:hueco=*
|
V-scale/Hueco grading system used in bouldering mainly in North America. | V1, V6 |
| Ice | climbing:grade:ice=*
|
Water Ice (WI) climbing grading system, WI1 to WI7. | WI2, WI3+ |
| Mixed | climbing:grade:mixed=*
|
Mixed (M) climbing grading system. | M8, M10+ |
| Dry | climbing:grade:dry=*
|
Dry-tooling (D) grading system. | D8, M10+ |
| Aid | climbing:grade:aid=*
|
Aid climbing grading system either for a complete aid route or a single aid section in a sports route. A0 to A5. | A1, A3 |
Grading Systems by Climbing Style
Different climbing styles use different grading systems. The following table shows which grading systems are appropriate for each climbing style:
| Climbing Style | Grading Systems |
climbing:sport=*
|
climbing:grade:french=*, climbing:grade:uiaa=*, climbing:grade:yds_class=*,
|
climbing:trad=*
| |
climbing:deepwater=*
| |
climbing:boulder=*
|
climbing:grade:font=*, climbing:grade:hueco=*
|
climbing:ice=*
|
climbing:grade:ice=*
|
climbing:mixed=*
|
climbing:grade:mixed=*
|
climbing:dry=*
|
climbing:grade:dry=*
|
climbing:aid=*
|
climbing:grade:aid=*
|
Using Aid in Climbing
Routes (climbing=route or climbing=route_bottom) where a short section can be aided to reduce difficulty can be tagged with climbing:grade:*:min=* to show the grade when aid is used. This is particularly useful for very difficult routes with sections that can be assisted. Use climbing:grade:aid=* to further describe the aid level. Commonly found in alpine multi-pitch routes or some classical sandstone areas.