Decoding Rock Climbing Grades: Conversion Table for Bouldering

Beginner rock climbers get extremely confused by the rock-climbing grade conversions. Particularly because there are different conventions followed by climbers of different countries and there is one for different styles of climbing i.e. there is one for climbing on ropes (sport climbing and trad climbing) and one for bouldering.

At the beginner level, grades do not matter much at all! However, it does help to learn enough about grades as it helps pick rock climbing routes at your level. You would rather spend time climbing at your level and progress to harder grades than flailing on the hardest rock climbing in town and getting depressed. Here a few simple characteristics of climbing grades that should help in getting a hang of all the weird numbers like 7c vs 5.13a. 

Note: We are going to use a few terms like sport climbing, bouldering, and other terms that a total beginner might struggle to understand. Look up our previous stories if you want a quick crash course on all the basic jargon in climbing.