Climbing grades explained

Reviewer Clear, credible, in-depth -- straight from one of the best in the world.

Moderator This is exactly the sub-skill, wall to wall. Ondra walks through why grading is subjective, what factors he weighs (style fit, conditions, redpoint vs onsite), grading history from 8a to 9c, why grades shift over time with broken holds or new gear like kneepads, and the fairness problem for tall vs short climbers. There isn't a wasted minute here that's off the topic of grades.

Reviewer Excellent, thorough explainer -- this is the one to point beginners to.

Moderator A full, direct explainer of bouldering grade systems -- V-scale vs Font scale, how the tiers break down, what affects a grade. Exactly and entirely what this topic asks for.

Reviewer Complete, correct, and it actually covers R and X ratings - send this one to a new climber.

Moderator The whole grading picture: YDS classes 1 through 5, the decimal subdivision, letter and plus/minus splits, how a grade gets proposed and then settled by consensus, the V scale, and the PG13/R/X protection ratings. Nothing off-topic in five minutes.

Reviewer One of the better explainers on WHY grades disagree between gyms and outdoors, not just what the numbers are.

Moderator This is squarely about how grades get established -- a climber proposes a grade, the community votes via Mountain Project/forums, gym route-setters target a grade and a team confirms it, plus why indoor and outdoor grades of the 'same' number can feel different. Directly answers 'how are climbing routes graded,' which is exactly this sub-skill.

Reviewer Concrete expert detail on what actually makes grades go up -- excellent.

Moderator An actual headsetter walks through how gym grades are built level by level -- hold quality, move size, technique introduction. About as squarely 'grades explained' as it gets, and from a credible expert source.

Reviewer Clear, thorough, and it explains the nuance most grade videos skip -- like danger vs. difficulty in British trad grades.

Moderator Comprehensive, dedicated walkthrough of French, British, and American systems plus how to compare across them -- about as squarely on-topic as this sub-skill gets.

Moderator This is squarely about a grading system - the UK trad E-grade - its range, what it's for, that it's UK-only, and what factors (difficulty, danger, access, rock quality) actually go into the number. Exactly the sub-skill.

Reviewer Clear-eyed explanation of what actually goes into an E-grade and why it doesn't translate cleanly to other scales.

Reviewer Deep, well-reasoned, and changes how you think about grades.

Moderator Squarely about grading methodology and philosophy -- physical vs technical difficulty, historical regrading, who has the standing to grade a climb -- exactly this sub-skill.

Reviewer Genuinely explains the why, not just the what -- useful mental model.

Moderator Digs into a real, common confusion about grades -- why the same number feels totally different indoors vs outdoors -- which is core to actually understanding what a grade means. Squarely on topic.

Reviewer Clean, accurate intro -- covers exactly what a new climber needs to know.

Moderator Explains the V-scale and Yosemite Decimal System from the ground up -- history, ranges, letter grades, subjectivity, the gym tape system. This is literally the sub-skill, no ambiguity.

Reviewer Solid, accurate explainer — the bit on reading grade anomalies for gear quality is the real value here.

Moderator This is the video — it's a straight, focused breakdown of what English trad grades mean: the adjectival (E) grade plus the technical letter grade, and how the two interact. No filler, no wandering into other climbing topics, just grades.

Moderator A direct, from-scratch explanation of the YDS number-and-letter system -- exactly what someone asking what these grades mean needs.

Reviewer Clean, simple, and accurate -- a good first explanation of grades.

Reviewer Clear, accurate, and actually useful as a reference.

Moderator This is literally a lesson on how the grading systems work -- YDS, French, V-scale, Font -- squarely the sub-skill.

Reviewer Solid, accurate primer -- hits the key points a beginner actually needs, including the honest note that grades are subjective.

Moderator This is exactly what the sub-skill needs -- walks through YDS classes 1-5 and how the 5.x sub-grades work, explicitly aimed at someone who's never seen a grade before. The core purpose of the video is explaining the grading system.

Reviewer Dense and dry in delivery, but about as complete and accurate a grades reference as exists -- includes the safety/protection ratings most videos skip.

Moderator An encyclopedic history-and-mechanics tour of essentially every major grading system -- Sierra Club classes, YDS origin, French, British adjective/technical grades, protection ratings. Thoroughly on-topic.

Reviewer Genuinely useful benchmarks and honest answers to the questions every new climber actually has.

Moderator Dead center on-topic -- a full FAQ walking through why grading systems differ, how YDS and V-scale work, and answering the exact confusions new climbers actually have.

Reviewer Explains the system AND its flaws -- real understanding, not just labels.

Moderator A full, dedicated breakdown of the aid-climbing grading scale (A1-A5, clean aid C-grades, big wall grades) -- a legitimate, if niche, climbing grading system, squarely covered.

Reviewer The E1 5a versus E1 5c comparison is where it clicks - that's the whole trick of British grading.

Moderator A grades explainer through and through, just scoped to one system. Adjectival grade from Moderate up through the E grades, technical grade, how the two combine, regional variation. Not general grading coverage, but for anyone reading a UK guidebook this is exactly the sub-skill.

Reviewer Worth it for the French and Font coverage; flat delivery and a couple of sloppy lines around 5.11.

Moderator Four systems, all grading: YDS, V scale, French sport, Font bouldering, plus a conversion chart and a note that the systems are open-ended. Squarely the sub-skill and broader in scope than the US-only explainers.

Reviewer The E-grade-to-French exchange rate and the danger ceiling are the clearest I've heard it put - shame the recording falls over.

Moderator Entirely about the E grade - where it came from, what it encodes, how it maps onto other systems, and where the technical grade stops being useful. Deeper on one system rather than broad, but it is grading from start to finish.

Moderator Uses a real, current example -- the Floatin grading debate between Shawn Raboutou and Will Bosi -- to explain why grades are subjective. Directly about how grading actually works in practice.

Reviewer Makes the subjectivity of grading click with a real example.

Reviewer Thoughtful and genuinely reframes how to think about grades.

Moderator Squarely about the nature of the grade scale itself -- is it linear, where are the boundaries, why grades feel fuzzy -- exactly the sub-skill.

Reviewer The commitment grades and the 'what the grade won't tell you' section are the real value here.

Moderator A grades explainer, but for a discipline most people asking about climbing grades aren't in yet. F through ABO, the combined rock/ice/mixed/aid notation, and the Roman numeral commitment grades. Solidly on the sub-skill, narrow slice of it.

Reviewer Concrete criteria, not just vibes - looks like it'll actually sharpen your eye.

Moderator This is teaching how to read a boulder problem and estimate its grade - strength-vs-technique cues, move types - which is the applied side of 'climbing grades explained.' On topic.

Reviewer Good, grounded perspective on not taking grades too seriously -- more mindset than mechanics.

Moderator Squarely about climbing grades, just from the psychology/philosophy angle -- subjectivity, why cross-gym comparison is meaningless, grades as a progress-tracking tool -- rather than explaining the numbering mechanics themselves.

Reviewer Solid explainer — you'll actually understand why two 7a's can feel nothing alike.

Moderator This is literally a deep-dive on how bouldering/route grades get set and drift over time — first ascensionist proposes a number, the crowd re-grades it on sites like 8a.nu, and the distribution tightens or stays flat depending on body type, beta used, and conditions on the day. That IS grade literacy, just at the conceptual level instead of a scale chart. Dead center on the sub-skill.

Reviewer Looks like a real explainer, not just a hook - decent bet for learning grades.

Moderator Dead on topic - explaining the 6B grade band and how the grading system works in bouldering is exactly 'climbing grades explained.'

Reviewer Thorough, well-organized breakdown if ice climbing is what you're after.

Moderator Genuinely about climbing grades -- just for a specific niche discipline (ice/mixed, WI/AI/M scales) rather than the standard rock/bouldering systems most people mean by 'climbing grades.' Correct topic, narrower scope than the core of the sub-skill.

Reviewer Good for understanding what a grade means in general - won't tell you how V-scale or French grades compare.

Moderator Directly explains how this gym's grading system works and why - a simplified 0-10 circuit scale, why the low grades need to be walk-up-and-pull-on obvious, why higher grades add technicality/strength/risk, and how accessibility across climber sizes factors in. Real explanation of grading philosophy, even if tied to one gym chain's specific scale rather than V-scale/French/YDS.

Moderator This explains the RAC scale (risk, intensity, complexity) used to design and score competition boulder problems, directly addressing why numeric grades don't tell the whole story about a climb's difficulty. That's squarely about understanding how climbs get graded and rated, even in the competition-scoring flavor.

Reviewer Clear, well-illustrated breakdown of what actually makes a climb hard.

Moderator A quick explainer on grading systems: the French scale's numbers, letters and pluses (7B harder than 7A, 7A+ harder than 7A) and the V scale with VB sitting just below V0. Squarely on topic, but it only scratches the surface in under 40 seconds.

Reviewer Handy short primer with a fair reality check that grades aren't exact, but too thin to rely on.

Moderator On why grades are subjective: two routes a letter grade apart, one powerful and physical, one positional with more recovery, and how a climber's strengths move their personal grade away from the consensus grade. About the nuance of grading, not the grade scales themselves.

Reviewer Right on the point that grades are consensus and your style moves them; assumes you already know the letter grades.

Reviewer Well explained grading progression — just for scrambling, not climbing grades.

Moderator This explains a real graded difficulty system (scrambling grades 1-3: what technical difficulty, exposure and commitment each level implies, how to progress between them) — the same kind of "grades explained" content, but for scrambling, a neighboring discipline to roped rock climbing rather than climbing itself.

Reviewer The sandbagged-old-routes point is good; the rest is a looser version of what better videos here already cover.

Moderator The stated topic is grades and she does stay on it - YDS classes, the rough difficulty bands, why old routes sandbag, first ascensionist sets the grade. But it's a livestream, so it wanders through personal asides and last week's knots episode, and the V scale never really arrives.

Reviewer Excellent terms glossary, not really a grades explainer.

Moderator A broad climbing-jargon glossary (beta, sending, flashing, crux, barn dooring, etc.) that touches difficulty ratings only via "sandbagged" (a route harder than its grade suggests) — useful context, but it doesn't explain the actual grading systems.