2021_03_06_Rotes Beil_Bischofsmütze_Felb

GRADING SCALES

ALPINE KNOWLEDGE

A guide through the maze of different grading scales for alpine sports

In mountain sports there are lots of different grading scales – in fact, one for every alpine discipline: alpine tours, alpine climbing, via ferratas, sport climbing, bouldering, ice climbing, ski touring and mountain hiking. On top of that, the various Alpine countries don't always agree and each use their own systems. Here I have put together the most important and most widely used ones. Where there are several different scales for one alpine sport in different countries, you will find a comparison of these grades.

SAC alpine tour grading scale

It is the most widely used scale for classic alpine tours in the Alps and has been recognised and adopted as such in several countries. Only the name and the description are translated into the respective national languages.

SAC Mountain and Alpine Hiking Scale

This scale is used to grade mountain hiking trails. It was introduced by the SAC in 2002 and is used above all on multi-day high-level routes and long-distance trails in the Alps. The "T" in each grade stands for trekking.

Alpine climbing UIAA

This grading scale dates back to the time before modern sport climbing emerged. It is used mainly for classic multi-pitch routes in the Dolomites, but also in the rest of the Alps – generally for routes where you still have to place your own protection and build your own belays. Any existing protection points must be assessed independently and improved if necessary. For routes equipped with bolts or glue-in anchors, the French grading scale has become the standard today.

Comparison of UIAA scale and French scale

Comparison of French and UIAA scales.png

Sport climbing

One of the least clear and most confusing areas is the grading scales for sport climbing. Different countries use a wide variety of names and approaches for grading their local climbing routes. The individual grading scales are still in use in their respective countries. As a climber, you therefore can't avoid converting the local scale into one you know in order to get an idea of how difficult the routes are.

Here is an overview of the most common scales for the largest and best-known climbing areas:

SAC ski touring scale

Bouldering

Technical climbing

Ice and mixed climbing

Avalanche danger levels for the entire Alpine region

Via ferratas

Via ferratas, too, are rated on several different scales. Here are the scales most commonly used in the Alps, along with a table comparing the different difficulty ratings.

The individual scales are described in more detail here.

Snowshoe hiking SAC

The many different approaches and attempts to describe the hazards, difficulties and overall demands of tours have led to a somewhat confusing array of grading scales. New ones will probably keep appearing in the future too. Whether there will one day be THE scale for each discipline remains to be seen. In any case, some are catching on better than others. For now, all you can do is compare and roughly estimate based on the information these grading attempts provide, in order to prepare as well as possible for the tour ahead.