Bouldering grades are a way to measure the difficulty of climbing problems, helping climbers gauge challenges and track progress. While the grading systems vary by region—like the Fontainebleau system in Europe or the V-scale in the U.S.—all aim to reflect a combination of physical and technical demands. These grades provide a shared language for climbers, making it easier to compare experiences and set personal goals. Understanding these systems is crucial for navigating climbing gyms and outdoor boulders alike, ensuring a rewarding experience at any level. Bouldering grades conversion facilitates this discussion
Grades are set by subjective people. Everyone who has climbed a specific route will probably scale a problem based on their skills. Therefore bouldering grades can be subject to many discussions.
Table of contents
Bouldering grades conversion
This page presents bouldering grades, the bouldering grades conversion relative to eachtother and the origine of most used scales.
| Font Scale | Dankyu | Font.’ scale | V scale – Hueco | British |
| 2 | 2 | VB | B0 | |
| 2+ | 2+ | |||
| 3A | 3 | B1 | ||
| 3B | 3+ | V0- | ||
| 3C | 4- | B2 | ||
| 4A | 7 kyuu | 4 | V0 | |
| 4B | 6 kyuu | 4+ | V0+ | |
| 4C | 5- | |||
| 5A | 5 kyuu | 5 | V1 | B3 |
| 5A+ | ||||
| 5B | 5+ | V2 | ||
| 5B+ | ||||
| 5C | ||||
| 5C+ | ||||
| 6A | 4 kyuu | 6A | V3 | B4 |
| 6A+ | 3 kyuu | 6A+ | ||
| 6B | 6B | V4 | B5 | |
| 6B+ | 2 kyuu | 6B+ | B6 | |
| 6C | 6C | V5 | ||
| 6C+ | 1 kyuu | 6C+ | B7 | |
| 7A | 7A | V6 | B8 | |
| 7A+ | 1 dan | 7A+ | V7 | |
| 7B | 7B | V8 | B9 | |
| 7B+ | 7B+ | |||
| 7B+ | 2 dan | 7B+ | V9 | |
| 7C | 7C | B10 | ||
| 7C+ | 3 dan | 7C+ | V10 | B11 |
| 8A | 8A | V11 | B12 | |
| 8A+ | 4 dan | 8A+ | V12 | |
| 8B | 8B | V13 | B13 | |
| 8B+ | 5 dan | 8B+ | V14 | B14 |
| 8C | 8C | V15 | B15 | |
| 8C+ | 6 dan | 8C+ | V16 | B16 |
| 9A | 9A | V17 | B17 | |
| 9A+ | 9A+ | |||
| 9B | 9B | |||
| 9B+ | 9B+ |
Grades in bouldering
Two of the most widely used systems are the V-scale in North America and the Fontainebleau scale in Europe.
The V-scale ranges from V0 (the easiest) to V16 (the hardest), with each grade marking a step up in difficulty. The Fontainebleau scale starts at 3 and goes up to 8C+, with plus or minus modifiers for finer adjustments. Both systems account for factors like holds, movement complexity, and technical demands when assigning grades. Keep in mind that bouldering grades are relative—a V3 in one area might feel different from a V3 elsewhere. Understanding these grades helps climbers pick problems suited to their skill level and progress at a steady pace.
In outdoor bouldering, the first person to complete a problem typically assigns its grade and name. Indoors, this task usually falls to the route setters or a team responsible for creating the problems.
Indoor Bouldering Grades
When bouldering gyms use the V-scale or Fontainebleau scale, indoor problems tend to feel easier than their outdoor counterparts. This makes it difficult to assess grades and would suggest we need a conversion of scales for indoor to outdoor usage.
Bouldering gyms therefore often create their own grading systems to assess route difficulty. Some argue this approach makes bouldering more accessible to a broader range of climbers.
Have fun!
Many boulderers use grades to measure their progress against others, but it’s important not to become too focused on them. The main goal should be to enjoy the experience. Grades are simply a useful tool for finding projects that challenge you personally.
History of Font scale grades
Used in: Europe, Asia, South Africa
The Font grading system, developed in the early 20th century, originated in the bouldering community of Fontainebleau a forested area south of Paris, France, famous for its extensive sandstone boulders. This region quickly became a global hotspot for bouldering, attracting climbers from all over the world.
As the Font grading system evolved, it gained international recognition, particularly across Europe, and has since been adopted by climbers worldwide. Today, it’s used not only in European climbing areas but also at bouldering destinations across the globe. Therefor its the first scale mentioned in the bouldering grades conversion table above.
Like all grading systems, Font grades are subjective and can differ between climbing areas. Climbers familiar with a specific location often develop a deeper understanding of the local grading variations.
History of V-scale grade
Used in: North America, China, South east asia, Oceania. Also called Hueco and Vermin scale.
The Introduction of the V-grades (Early 1970s)
John Sherman, known as “Vermin,” refined and popularized the V-Scale in the early 1970s. He introduced numerical grades starting from V0 to represent the easiest problems. In his bouldering guide, he presented hundreds of problems using this grading system.
Today, climbers across North America predominantly use the V-Scale for bouldering. The scale has gained international recognition, though other grading systems like the Fontainebleau scale, primarily used in Europe, still coexist.
As the sport progresses, elite climbers push the boundaries of difficulty. They have established problems graded beyond V16, continually striving to find and complete ever more challenging lines.
Climbers and setters keep the V-Scale dynamic by constantly refining the grades of bouldering problems. Advances in climbing techniques, equipment, and training methods continue to influence the scale.
Origine of B- and E- scale of John Gill
The B-Scale (British scale) created in the 1958 by John Gill in the United States, during the early days of modern bouldering. At the time, climbers were just beginning to focus on short, intense routes on boulders, as opposed to traditional, longer climbs.
John suggested a grading systems, first the B-system grading from B1 to B3. Where B1 would be difficult, B2 was a little more difficult and B3 would only be completed once. Second he suggested the E system that would grade a boulder difficulty based on the amount of people that would have send the boulder. So when a boulder would have been send by 1 person would be graded E-1 and when it would be send by 10 it would be E-10. After E-10 the grade would be dropped.
Origine of the Dankyu bouldering grade System
The Dankyū system, also known as the “kyū dan” system in Japan, closely mirrors the grading systems found in martial arts, utilizing both Dan and Kyu levels. Originating in the bouldering region of Ogawayama, Japan, this system commences at 10-kyū, denoting the easiest level, and progressively intensifies as it descends to 1-kyū. Similar to martial arts, once a climber attains 1-kyū, they transition into the “black-belt grades” starting with 1-Dan (referred to as shodan or “the first step”).
Bouldering grades are subjective
Earlier this text noted that grades are subjective to the people climbing a specific problem. Difference between people grading them, gyms, countries, inside and outside will probably remain. Yet I hope this bouldering grades conversion table will help you get a little grasp on this difficult subject.
Jim Holloway is an American boulderer who established several of the most difficult boulder problems of the 1970s in Colorado, including Trice. He was skeptical of detailed grading systems and preferred simple classifications. In interviews, he explained that early climbing used very limited grading ranges, such as the B-system introduced by John Gill, and that later systems added increasing levels of complexity. Holloway stated that he eventually reduced this to “easy, medium, and hard” because numerical grades did not reflect differences in body type, conditions, or style. He also questioned the usefulness of grades for problems that had few or no repeats, noting that difficulty can vary with conditions and individual climbers.
Differences with Sport climbing grades
The most commonly used grading systems for sport climbing include the French (e.g., 5.10, 5.11) and the YDS (Yosemite Decimal System) grades. These typically include numbers followed by decimal points and sometimes letters (e.g., 5.10a, 5.11b). We listed the bouldering grading to climbing grading.
Differences between the two grading systems:
Sport Climbing Grades consider factors like overall route length, sustained difficulty, type and quality of holds, and endurance required. Climbers need to manage their energy efficiently over an extended climb. Where Bouldering Grades focus on individual sequences, holds, and movements. Grading accounts for factors like strength, power, technique, and precision. Climbers need to solve specific “problems” or sequences.