In the French grading system, a 7a+ is an indication of having done something pretty darn good. This tier is roughly equivalent to V6 in the U.S. Bouldering V scale. While American climbers use these two scales to rate boulder problems, each of these scales started from a different origin.
Over in Europe, climbers often use the French scale. In the U.S., the V scale reigns supreme at gyms and crags alike. Being familiar with the systems and how to correlate these grades allows climbers to choose problems appropriate to their skill level.
There are minor variations from gym to gym or guidebook to guidebook, but the 7a+ to V6 conversion is the most widely adopted. For people transitioning between these grading systems, a simple table helps identify the corresponding level quickly. The next section analyzes the major takeaways and contrasts.
Key Takeaways
- In Europe, climbers often use the Font scale. At the same time, the V scale has become the norm for bouldering grades in the US.
- A 7a+ on the Font scale is approximately equal to V6 on the V scale. To make more precise comparisons, consult a conversion chart or app.
- Grading conversions are always nebulous with the caveat that rock type, climbing style, and personal experience can change everything.
- By getting a sense for both grading systems American climbers will be better prepared to make sense of international grades and select challenges appropriate to their ability.
- Moving beyond 7a+ requires focused strength training, better footwork, and developing specific objectives in climbing.
- Climbing grades are a useful point of reference. While working through grades is fine, climbers need to focus on bettering themselves and having fun—not getting wrapped up in a progression of grades.
Converting 7a+ to V Scale Directly
From a surface level perspective, converting from the French grading system to the V scale looks easy enough. In reality it’s much more complicated than that. These two systems developed in parallel—France and the U.S.—and as such they don’t always line up perfectly.
The French scale, which employs numerical and alphabetical grades such as 7a+, is widely adopted in Europe and for sport climbs. It has become the scale used for V scale, the bouldering standard in the States. It begins with VB for easy boulder problems and goes all the way up to V17.
Here are some key points for converting 7a+ to the V scale:
- 7a is about the same as V6.
- 7a+ is equivalent to 5.11d in the Yosemite Decimal System.
- The majority of climbers look up grades by using conversion tables, guidebooks, or climbing apps.
- These conversions can be somewhat variable depending on who’s climbing and where.
If you really want to get down to brass tacks, 7a+ is roughly equivalent to V7. That puts it in the very good to excellent range. As many climbers will tell you, it’ll actually feel more like V8 or even V9 depending on your style of climbing.
The French and V scales differ in their approaches to measuring difficulty. Some grades will always feel more difficult or easier than what is shown on the table might suggest. A 7a+ at Fontainebleau would probably not require the same effort as a V7 in Bishop.
Climbers typically settle grade disagreements by arguing them out at the crag or climbing gym. This is a testament to the fact that the numbers represent the broadest consensus of the public. If you’re still unfamiliar with conversions, consult several different conversion charts to get a deeper sense.
Finally, don’t be afraid to consult other climbers’ reviews! Not that there’s one correct solution, but that approximate match—7a+ equals roughly V Scale V7—holds up across the majority of climbs.
What is the Font Scale?
The Font scale is a French-origin bouldering grading scale. It first started in Fontainebleau, France, and is otherwise known as the French Scale or Fontainebleau Scale. It is currently the dominant system used over most of Europe for rating bouldering problems.
What really makes the Font scale unique is its use of both numbers and letters to show how difficult a climb is. The V scale, which is commonly used across the United States, uses only numbers. Those numbers go from 3 to 9. A score of 3 would be a beginner route, whereas a score of 9 would be the equivalent of some of the most challenging boulders you’d find.
Each number might have a letter, A, B, or C, to provide further detail. It is a 6A problem, not a 6B. A 6B+ would mean that the problem is just a little harder than a 6B. The plus sign means that the climb is more difficult than two letter grades. It indicates that it’s a problem, but not quite all the way to the next full step up.
The Font scale provides climbers with a straightforward way to communicate to each other what to expect on a boulder problem. By employing the Font scale, climbs are rated more accurately to reflect not only the difficulty of the climb, but the technical skill or strength required.
In Fontainebleau, the boulders are marked with colored chalk. Yellow and green show the easier problems, red, blue and black the more advanced challenges. For people coming from the V scale, there are very approximate conversions so a Font 7a+ would be roughly a V7.
They can more easily compare routes between Europe and the U.S. For instance. This ensures that all participants can find a challenge that suits their abilities.
What is the V Scale?
The V scale is the American bouldering grade system. It has become the main unofficial system for rating bouldering problems nationwide. It began here in the U.S., but it really took off in climbing gyms and crags around the world.
The scale begins at V0, the simplest of issues, and scales upward with no defined maximum. Currently, the most difficult established climbs in the world go up to V17. Every digit on the scale is a real increase in difficulty. As climbers continue to expand the limits of possibility, new grades are introduced to acknowledge their feats.
These V grades give climbers an idea of what they can expect before they ever touch foot on the climb. Just as an example, novices will often work up from V0 to V2. These climbs have bigger holds and easier angles. This unique design allows new climbers to more easily get comfortable moving on the wall.
Grades V3 to V5 represent the leap to intermediate, where the holds become progressively smaller and moves require greater technical prowess. Elite boulderers climb V6 to V8, where problems require power, technical skill, and often a fair amount of grit. For elite climbers who are working V10 and up, every little thing matters.
A V5 on granite in Joshua Tree is a different type of challenge than a V5 in a gym. Both routes use the same nonsensical V scale to communicate to climbers what they can expect.
The V scale is important for more than conservation bragging rights. It allows users to measure their ability, monitor their improvement, and select climbs appropriate to their ability. It’s what most American climbers use when talking about bouldering or sport climbing.
They personally like to use it along with the Yosemite Decimal System. It’s important to understand that grades differ by region and by the opinion of the route creator. The weather is a huge factor too, so they are very subjective.
Challenges in Grade Translation
Grade translation in climbing has never been very straightforward. Every grading system has its own special features. For example, North America typically uses the V Scale, while Europe usually uses the Font Scale.
How a climb feels is a fickle thing. The answer is determined mostly by the type of rock and the height of the problem. The sandstone in Joshua Tree produces a much different aesthetic than the granite in Bishop. This is the case even when the grades are the same. A steep, punchy boulder with bad holds will test you in a different way than a 50-foot, vertical or slab climb. Both can have the same rating on paper.
Climbing grades are, as this blog suggests, wholly subjective and based on the experience of where you’ve been and what you’ve climbed. Someone who grew up pulling on overhanging gym holds might find a 7a+ outdoors feels like a 7b, while someone who climbs outside all the time may breeze through the same problem.
This subjectivity is compounded when the first person to submit a new issue chooses a grade. Later, anyone could come along and determine that it is 100% wrong. It’s akin to a gym climber who mislabels a V1 as a V3. The V Scale itself has few steps between grades, so small bumps in difficulty can feel big and leave folks unsure where a climb fits.
The “+” system, which was designed to provide greater precision, actually makes it more confusing when moving back and forth between different grading systems. At grades such as B2 or B3, the space between these grades can seem very wide and unclear.
Ultimately, each climber’s experience informs their approach to interpreting and understanding grades.
Quick History of Climbing Grades
Climbing grades have come a long way since the early days. Each grading system is a product of the communities, cultures, needs, and climbing styles of their respective areas and practitioners. The French grading system originated in the 1960s, just as sport climbing was exploding in popularity across Europe.
It uses numbers and letters, like 7a+, to show how hard a route is based on moves and how pumped your arms get. Before this, the UIAA scale was used in limestone crags around Kraców. That scale went from Grade I to Grade VI until the 1970s.
Bouldering required its own system to rate problems, as the climbs were shorter and more powerful. The V scale, which originated in the 1990s in Texas, only uses numbers. V0 is very chill, but it increases extremely quickly as the moves become more difficult.
This system seemed perfect for the burgeoning bouldering scene in North America. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, the Font system had emerged from the sandstone boulders of Fontainebleau, France. It bases its grades on numbers and letters as well, and it remains to this day the most popular scale in use in Europe for bouldering.
Climbing grades didn’t magically appear one day, though. California came up with the Yosemite Decimal System in the 1930s. This classification helped separate walks from true climbs, ultimately allowing for the development of an initial rating system.
History is full of meaningful ascents. For example, Emanuel Strubisch completed the 6a Expo in Germany in 1918, and Frank Elliot and his mates completed the 6a+ Expo in the UK in 1930. Pushing the limits in the 1950s and 1960s, climbers like Peter Harding and John Gill took the sport to new heights.
They accomplished difficult solo ascents and pioneered new grading systems. By the 1980s, Wolfgang Güllich was establishing world-class routes in Australia, advancing grades to 8b+. Now, climbers like Adam Ondra and Alex Megos are consistently pushing the boundaries, with routes up to 9c.
Grades often change as more folks climb a route—the first person suggests a number, but it shifts as others weigh in.
Moving Past 7a+ Boulders
Moving past 7a+ boulders entails more than just more time on the wall. Many climbers in the V7 range can even reach 5.14 in sport climbing, though there are a lot of other pieces in that puzzle. For boulderers who want to move beyond 7a+, it’s useful to consider the primary 7a+-busting approaches to doing so.
7 grades aren’t one-size-fits-all. It might not seem that way when a V5 can feel like a V7 on some rocks, but you can take time-tested proven steps to make tangible progress.
- Develop your finger strength and body tension with specific training. Short, hard hangs or repeaters on a hangboard are extremely effective. Continue to attempt to retain tiny ledges and try to align body in a rigid, straight vector.
- Drills that challenge footwork and movement in general. Practice flagging, silent feet, and slow-motion climbing to hone in on each movement. On steep walls, practice moving your hips and driving through with your toes.
- Set specific, measurable objectives for every session. Get ready to ship an entire, specified grade, or complete the design with less iterations. Progress happens through a series of small victories, not through giant steps.
- Supplement with training implements such as campus boards, rings, or weights to develop your body’s explosive strength and endurance. Include them alongside actual climbing to make it worthwhile.
Research indicated that half of climbers who send 5.11d (7a) bouldering equate to V3 to V4. If you’re hitting a ceiling at 5.12-, but you never bouldered above V3, it could be beneficial to boulder more.
Regularly sending V4 to V6 lines matches with 5.12+, and steady V5 to V7 sends can mean 5.13b route strength. Remember that grades are always subject to change. Some issues are often re-graded down, so always consult local climbers.
My View: Grades Are Guides, Not Rules
Just as climbing grades, whether 7a+ or V6, are most effective when treated as guides, not gospel. Grades are useful to establish a floor, but there’s plenty of room for flexibility. Each climber walks up to a route or boulder with their unique abilities, strengths, insecurities, and fears.
An individual V7 may be a V6 to somebody and a V8 to another climber. It’s not enough to have a great competition — to be amazing with the moves or the holds. Only the first person to solve a given new challenge gets a grade. This rating is totally subjective and based only on their own sense of what seems hard or seems simple.
Over time, others may call it “soft” or “hard” for its grade, showing how these numbers shift with more tries and more people. Indoor versus outdoor climbing further complicates the picture. A V0 in a gym can be a whole lot harder, like a 5.8 on actual rock. Everything from moves and holds to the air quality can change your experience with a grade.
Among those who criticize the V-scale’s shortcomings, it’s notoriously inconsistent, sometimes leaving two full grades between climbs. This results in two climbs of the same grade being vastly different. That’s why these grades serve as a guide rather than a rule.
As others have said, this is the heart of what climbing is about—not the pursuit of a number. Development happens through exposure to different forms, finding better ways to move and simply enjoying themselves. We need to understand the story behind that challenge.
A grade only illustrates the challenge. As climbers quickly discover, happiness and advancement don’t necessarily correlate with grade increases. A steady V4 climber can still build skills, community, and love for the sport—no need to hit V8 to feel proud.\
Climbing Grade Conversions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “7a+” mean in bouldering?
7a+ is a grade on the Font (Fontainebleau) scale, which is often used in Europe to grade bouldering problems. It’s a measure of the difficulty of a climb.
What is the V Scale?
The V Scale, or “Vermin scale,” is the American system for grading boulder problems. It begins at V0 and progresses upward, with ascending numbers indicating more difficult ascents.
How does 7a+ on the Font scale convert to the V scale?
How does 7a+ on the Font scale compare to the V scale? This is just an estimate and it can vary a little based on the specific climbing gym or region.
Why is converting climbing grades tricky?
Convert Grades are not only subjective and dependent on location and grade style, but on climbers’ opinions. What seems like a V6 in one gym might seem like a V3 outside or a V2 at another gym.
Which grading scale should I use in the United States?
The V scale Most bouldering gyms and guidebooks in the U.S. Utilize the V scale. If you’re going to be climbing here, it’s good to be familiar with this system.
Is there an exact formula for converting Font grades to V grades?
Is there an exact formula for converting Font grades to V grades? Conversion charts are great resources and offer helpful guidelines. The true answer is to just try climbs in both systems and experience how they compare for yourself.
Are climbing grades always accurate?
Are climbing grades never accurate? They are useful for climbers in selecting problems but can be more difficult or easier based on your body type and approach.