Bouldering is often likened to rock climbing in that you’re, in some way, scaling a wall or cliff with your hands and feet.
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. Essentially, it’s rock climbing stripped down into its rawest form.
There is a range of different types of bouldering, including outdoor bouldering, indoor bouldering, and highball bouldering.
In essence, it’s a form of free climbing that can either be performed on an artificial rock wall or on small rock formations outside. To break your fall, there are pads on the ground that do so.
While it’s a popular activity that can get you fit and healthy – physically and mentally – it also requires power and technique. It’s also something you can get better at and go from a beginner to a veteran climber.
What is the Purpose of Bouldering Grades?
Bouldering grades are a way for climbers to identify how difficult boulders or “problems” are (the routes presented that are to be climbed).
These short sequences come in a variety of difficulties and are graded most commonly on two scales: the V Scale and the Fontainebleau system, aka the Font Scale. Depending on the country you’re in, either may be more commonly used.
By having a scale to indicate the difficulty of each problem, climbers can tackle them linearly and improve their bouldering skills in a much more analytical way.
Rather than jumping straight to an expert grade, you can start by practicing beginner-grade routes and slowly ascend all the way up to elite grades.
For instance, if a V8 problem is too difficult but not impossible, a V3 will be too easy, a V5 will be comfortable, and anything above a V8 will be much too hard.
How Are Bouldering Grades Determined?
Bouldering grades are decided by how physically challenging and demanding the route is. Of course, physical activity and mental strain are hard to determine entirely on a scale, which is why these grades are merely an estimate.
Although subjective and much debated in the bouldering community, it remains a solid way to get a good idea of how difficult a problem will be before conquering it.
Depending on whether the problem is set indoors or outdoors, there are slightly different ways of determining the grade:
Indoor
As you would expect, the person who created the problem (route setter) will climb it as many times as needed and assign a grade to it.
They may even get other climbers with a range of body types to test the route and give their opinion, as not everyone will have the same height or arm length, for example.
Outdoor
When it comes to outdoor problems, there’s less subjectiveness. This is because the problem isn’t a man-made one.
The first climbers typically assign it a grade, and as more climbers tackle the route, the grade may get adjusted. Eventually, it becomes a set grade online or in guidebooks about the area.
Bouldering Grade Conversions – V Scale to Font Scale
As we touched upon earlier in the article, there are two primary scales – the V Scale and Font Scale. Both scales are open-ended, but the V Scale is often said to be more straightforward.
Essentially, the higher the number is, the harder the problem.
You’ll also see problems labeled with a + or -, which works to extend the scale a bit further. V4+ is harder than V4, and V4- is easier than V4.
The Font Scale also follows a linear scale – the higher the number, the harder the route. At 6, you’ll sometimes see the letters A, B, or C tagged onto the end of numbers.
In essence, 6B is harder than 6A, and 6C is harder than 6B. Similarly to the V scale, you’ll see a + added on occasionally – this just means it’s a little harder.
The Font Scale is most commonly used in Asia and Europe, while North America and Australia typically use the V Scale. Luckily, they’re relatively interchangeable, making it easy to enjoy bouldering all around the world.
Let’s go a little more into detail and break the grades down even further. We’ll be focused on indoor climbing in this section.
Beginner Grades Explained (V0 – V2 / 4 – 5+)
The beginner grades (sometimes called novice grades) V0 – V2 on the V Scale and 4 – 5+ on the Font Scale are most suitable for those that have just started their bouldering journey.
These simpler problems will allow you to learn proper hand and foot techniques, route reading, and sequencing techniques that will set you up for more difficult problems later on.
Beginner problems usually feature a lot of jugs, which are the most comfortable and accommodating “rocks” (or holds) to hold with their concave shape.
You can easily place one or two hands on them, whether they’re oriented downwards or sideways. With these, you’ll learn how to best maximize leverage and climb efficiently.
You’ll also likely encounter chips for footholds, which are flat or gently slope downwards towards the wall, making it easy to stand on. When it comes to your feet, these will help you train which part of the shoe to step with.
New climbers will benefit most from learning matching and bumping climbing techniques. Matching is straightforward, where it involves bringing one hand to join the other so that both hands are on the same hold.
Matching is most used on big holds like jugs, used to strengthen your support position or reset your hand sequencing if you make a “mistake.”
Bumping serves to break up the classic alternating sequence with your hands – left, right, left, right – to where you’re moving one hand for multiple moves sequentially. This is usually done if a problem presents more than one hand hold on one side.
Intermediate Grades Explained (V3 – V5 / 6A – 6C+)
Once you’re comfortable with beginner problems, you’ll be ready for some intermediate grades that add a little more complexity and variety. While there were previously only jugs for hand holds, there are now three new types of holds brought into the mix. These include:
- Crimps – Smallest hand hold that takes a lot of finger strength. They’re used with three to four fingers, one pad deep (pad: distance between a knuckle and finger).
- Pinches – Hand holds that use the thumb and require grip strength between the thumb and other fingers to create a compression hold. They can be used from a variety of angles as they are bigger than crimps and easier to catch.
- Slopers – These are the most difficult type of hand holds to secure a grip on as they don’t have a positive edge. They require you to maximize surface area with a full flat hand.
Another difference between intermediate grades and beginner grades is that it’s not just vertical walls you’ll be climbing. There’ll be four more terrain types, including overhang, slab, dihedral, and arete.
- Overhang – The most strenuous type of terrain with steepness levels of 10 degrees to over 50 degrees. Think of a cliff sloping over the floor. This will require training of toe pressure, core tension, and hip placement.
- Slab – Slab is the opposite of overhang, where the wall angles at a lean over 9 degrees. Because it’s so different from vertical or overhang terrain, it requires a different technique altogether that focuses on balance and friction.
- Dihedral – Dihedral refers to inward corners and is known for being awkward to navigate. It requires a lot of pushing (with both your arms and legs), which can be a challenge for those who are still developing their pulling strength.
- Arete – In opposition, arete refers to outward corners. They’re climbed the way you would climb vertical terrain, but there’s a lot more compression thanks to the protruding areas of the wall.
Hard Grades Explained (V6 – V8 / 7A – 7B)
And now we come to the hard (advanced) grades – problems that require a lot of technical knowledge and strength. Those that manage to make it to this level may experience a plateau.
In order to overcome plateaus, you can practice “limit bouldering,” which means going one to two grades above your limit. This will push you to start with difficult opening moves and anticipate routes that have a high rate of failure for your skill level.
Hard problems tend to increasingly require a lot of finger strength, which helps you seamlessly move into different positions. They also aid in holding onto holds longer and staying on the wall longer.
The best way to train finger strength is to use a hangboard, where you can train different positions like the half crimp, three finger drag, slopers, pinches, and pockets.
For V7 problems and above, you’ll also want to improve your deadpointing – a technique that involves turning into a rock wall and extending for a new hold against gravity. We can break this down into a few components: precision, tension, and commitment using the body.
Expert Grades Explained (V9 – V12 / 7B+ – 8A+)
Getting to the expert grades is a true accomplishment. At this point, you’ll want to further your training outside of bouldering and continue pushing your limits.
At the expert level, it can be useful to practice Frenchies, which is an exercise that helps you train lock-off strength at different bend angles.
Especially when combined with finger board training, it might just be the kryptonite you need.
You’ll want to start at the deepest holds on the hangboard which are two to three pads and do one pull up, a three second full lock off, another pull up, and then a three second half lock off. Then, another pull up and a three second quarter lock off. Once you’re comfortable doing these, you can gradually decrease finger depth.
Another important aspect of expert problems is contact strength, as you start using more dynamic movements and dealing with smaller holds. The best way to improve your contact strength is by training on a campus board. Activities you can do include:
- Matching ladder: Move up one rung at a time with your second hand coming up to match
- Alternating ladder: Instead of matching holds, move up each rung with opposing hands (left, right, left, right)
- 1-3-5: Hang with both hands on the first rung, bring your lead hand up to the third rung, pull yourself up, and move your other hand up to the fifth rung. Finish off by matching and drop down.
Elite Grades Explained (V13 and above / 8B and above)
Elite grades are self-explanatory. Anyone who has reached this level of bouldering likely isn’t reading this and knows how to conquer almost every bouldering problem in existence!
Frequently Asked Questions
For more information about bouldering grades, read on for answers to some frequently asked questions.
What is a good grade for bouldering?
“Good” is subjective. But if we’re talking about when you’d be able to consider yourself a decent boulderer, most consider V5 to V6 as a benchmark. Once you reach the top end of the intermediate grades, you’ll begin to start tackling some difficult challenges. Ultimately though, grades shouldn’t define your skills but rather be used as a way to get systematically more skilled at the sport.
Are bouldering grades colored the same at every gym?
Usually, bouldering grades are colored according to whether the problem is a beginner, intermediate, advanced, pro, or elite one. Beginner problems are usually green, intermediate is yellow, advanced is red, pro is purple, and elite is gray or black.
Each gym will have a slightly different color scale, so it’s worth asking a member of staff if you need clarification. While some gyms follow the standard color rules, others may make up their own color system.
Are there any other grading systems used besides V Scale and Font Scale?
When it comes to bouldering, the V Scale and Font Scale are the only official scales there are. Occasionally, you’ll see other grading systems that are for climbing or hiking, which aren’t usually interchangeable.
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