Grading Systems
Climbzilla supports multiple route grading systems. Each gym configures the system separately for bouldering and lead climbing. Users see grades in the system chosen by their gym.
Available systems
Section titled “Available systems”Fontainebleau (Font)
Section titled “Fontainebleau (Font)”The primary system for bouldering. Used in most European gyms and on the Fontainebleau sandstone boulders in France, where it gets its name.
Supported range: 5A to 9A
V-Scale (V-Grade)
Section titled “V-Scale (V-Grade)”An alternative system for bouldering. Developed in the USA. Widely used in American gyms and by part of the international community.
Supported range: V1 to V17
French system (French)
Section titled “French system (French)”The system for lead climbing. The standard across most European climbing gyms.
How is it different from Fontainebleau? The difference is in the fives — in the French system, fives are not split into sub-grades with plusses. There is also a semantic difference: French and Fontainebleau may look similar but apply to different disciplines. French is for lead, Fontainebleau is for bouldering. The systems are also visually distinguished by letter case: French grades are written in lowercase, Fontainebleau in uppercase.
Supported range: 5a to 9c
Gym configuration
Section titled “Gym configuration”The system is configured separately per discipline:
- for Bouldering: Fontainebleau or V-Scale
- for Lead: French only
The system can be changed by gym admins or moderators. When the system is changed, all routes in the affected sectors are automatically converted to the new system according to the table below.
Points table
Section titled “Points table”The table shows the points awarded for completing a route. It is also used for grade conversion when a gym switches systems. Points shown are for a regular send (top, not flash).
| Font | French | V-Scale | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5A | 5a | V1 | 1 |
| 5B | 5b | — | 3 |
| 5C | 5c | V2 | 10 |
| 5C+ | — | — | 19 |
| 6A | 6a | V3 | 34 |
| 6A+ | 6a+ | — | 61 |
| 6B | 6b | V4 | 110 |
| 6B+ | 6b+ | — | 198 |
| 6C | 6c | V5 | 357 |
| 6C+ | 6c+ | — | 643 |
| 7A | 7a | V6 | 1 157 |
| 7A+ | 7a+ | V7 | 2 082 |
| 7B | 7b | V8 | 3 748 |
| 7B+ | 7b+ | — | 6 747 |
| 7C | 7c | V9 | 12 144 |
| 7C+ | 7c+ | V10 | 21 859 |
| 8A | 8a | V11 | 39 346 |
| 8A+ | 8a+ | V12 | 70 823 |
| 8B | 8b | V13 | 127 481 |
| 8B+ | 8b+ | V14 | 229 466 |
| 8C | 8c | V15 | 413 038 |
| 8C+ | 8c+ | V16 | 743 468 |
| 9A | 9a | V17 | 1 338 243 |
| — | 9a+ | — | 2 408 837 |
| — | 9b | — | 4 335 906 |
| — | 9b+ | — | 7 804 631 |
| — | 9c | — | 14 048 336 |
When converting, if there is no exact match, the nearest easier grade is used. For example, 6a+ maps to V3, not V4.
Grade point progression: 5A = 1.0, each subsequent grade is multiplied by 1.8.
Finish type multiplier:
| Type | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Top | ×1.0 |
| Flash | ×1.2 |
| Zone | ×0.2 |
Project grade
Section titled “Project grade”A route can be assigned the Project grade, meaning it has no grade yet. Useful when the difficulty has not been determined. Such routes are not counted in rankings and award no points.