6a+ to V Scale: How Font 6A+ Converts to V3

If you’re trying to figure out how the 6a+ grade converts to the V scale or Yosemite Decimal System (YDS), here’s a quick answer:

Font 6A+ is roughly equal to V3 on the V scale
Its moves compare to the crux of a 5.11b to 5.11c route in YDS
A French sport 6a+ route is a different grade, equal to 5.10b

This guide breaks it all down so you understand why there’s a range and how these grading systems compare.

The 6a+ to V-Scale Conversion Explained

In the climbing community, grades are the highway signs that tell you what to expect before you even start. The 6A+ in the Font system and V3 in the V scale both represent a middle ground. For climbers, 6A+ is intermediate, a significant step up from the very basics.

Each grade challenges your movement, grip, and technicality, yet remains approachable for climbers finding their feet. Here’s a quick look at how these grades match up:

Font Grade	V-Scale	Challenge Level
5+	V2	Solid beginner, steady moves
6A	V3	Intermediate, steeper moves
6A+	V3	Intermediate, trickier holds
6B	V4	Upper-intermediate, more power needed

For a deeper breakdown of how advanced sport grades like 5.13a compare to the V Scale, check out our full conversion guide.

Both Font 6A+ and V3 are frequently challenging you to demonstrate an efficient movement pattern. You’ll encounter crux slopes, pinches, or traverses that require more than power. Most climbers start to have concrete aspirations at these grades.

They’re all about connecting more difficult moves and addressing their areas of weakness. Understanding the conversion between grades enables you to measure advancement. For anyone learning or climbing in a gym, out at crags, or even overseas, conversion charts offer a guide to what to expect.

Different grading scales, such as UIAA, French, YDS and British E-grades, all attempt to quantify the same effort, but they don’t always match up. For instance, UIAA V+ lines up with French 5a, and 5.12a YDS lines up with French 7a+, on Mountain Project's grade comparison chart.

The UIAA scale officially became open-ended in 1985 to keep up with harder ascents, according to the UIAA's review of climbing scales.

That’s one reason why so many people use their tables to compare and plan, yet each climb still often feels like a different experience.

What Are Climbing Grades Anyway?

Climbing grades are a useful shorthand for communicating the difficulty of a route. These grades are one of the tools that allow climbers to choose routes appropriate to their current ability and their desired progression. The grade tells you how steep, long, and hard a climb is.

It hints at whether you’ll face tiny holds, long reaches, or committing sections. A 6a+ on the French sport scale is a route of about 5.10b. By comparison, a V3 on the V scale means a few powerful moves on a boulder. Each system serves its intended audience.

For roped climbs, climbers in the U.S. generally use the YDS. For bouldering, they use the V scale. In Europe, sport routes use the French scale, and boulders use the Font scale.

Why do grades matter? Grades are important because they provide climbers an objective measure to establish goals and track their growth as a climber. Even if you fail, reaching for a higher grade can improve skill level and provide a rewarding feeling of advancement.

The National Climbing Classification System (NCCS) includes “commitment grades” that reflect the time and seriousness of a climb. Grades can also be subjective.

What is challenging for one climber doesn’t work for someone else. For example, a V3 could seem easy to a climber with powerful fingers, but hard to a beginner boulderer.

History of Grading

The history of climbing grades goes back more than a century, to early Alpine scales such as the Welzenbach scale. Since then, route grades have climbed to 9c in the French system, illustrating the rapid progression of the sport.

Grades change with the era, new equipment and local habits. Even the type of rock can affect a grade. In trad systems like the British E-grade, a route with poor protection gets a higher overall grade to reflect the danger involved.

Common Hurdles in Grade Translation

When climbers cross from 6a+ into the V-scale, they don’t just encounter different numbers. Crossing over means navigating a variety of grading systems, each with their own unique set of idiosyncrasies. The match-up between the French grades and the American V-scale is not clear-cut, which can be confusing.

In the U.S., climbers sometimes confuse the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) and the V-scale. The bigger trap is that a French sport 6a+ (about 5.10b) and a Font 6A+ boulder (about V3) share a name but are very different grades.

Physical differences are a major hurdle. A climber who finds 6a+ sport routes comfortable may find a V3 boulder much harder, because the holds are smaller and every move demands body tension.

Grades also shift over time. Repeated piton placements and better gear have made some old aid routes much easier, and those routes have been downgraded.

The mental side can be even harder. A new grade can make even veteran climbers doubt themselves.

Approaching them with a sense of confidence that comes from consistent practice and progressing to more difficult problems is key. Many climbers refine their movement, focus on technique, and work with partners to push past both physical and mental blocks.

My Take: Feeling Out the V-Grades

Transitioning from 6A+ to the V-scale, the first thing to understand is that V-grades can feel very subjective. One V7 could feel easy and the next could feel impossible. There is no perfect formula for grade thresholds. The first ascensionist suggests a grade, and repeat ascents refine it over time.

The same V-grade can feel easy to one climber and hard to another. A V4 on a steep wall can feel very different from a V4 on a slab.

Trying many problems at a grade is a great way to find out what fits you best. Some climbers send every crimpy boulder but struggle on slopers, or the reverse. Keeping a climbing journal helps.

Keep notes on how each problem went, what worked, and which grades challenge you the most. A few weeks in, you start to spot trends. For example, you will find out what moves are making you go slower and learn what kind of holds you like best.

Friends or experienced climbers who can give helpful feedback are priceless. Your peers will be the first to notice practices you’ve overlooked or to propose changes that improve your approach. V-grades are open-ended, currently going up to V17 for the world’s best climbers.

It’s this flexibility that opens up limitless possibilities for progress, no matter how far along your journey you may be. After all, progress seldom occurs in a day. To make it to the other side, stay committed, be patient and learn to accept some losses on the journey to success.

Tips for Your V-Scale Journey

John “Vermin” Sherman codified the V-scale at Hueco Tanks for his 1991 guidebook, building on an informal scale used there in the late 1980s, according to Climbing magazine. It’s an open-ended scale that keeps growing as climbers push new limits, with the hardest problems now at V17.

The V-scale only considers movement difficulty. It does not account for height or the danger of a fall.

To get stronger and improve technique for V-scale climbs, climbers use many training methods:

Hangboarding for finger strength
Campusing for power
Bouldering drills to practice moves
Mobility work for flexibility
Footwork drills to sharpen precision
Core workouts for body tension
Targeted rest for recovery

Set small, realistic objectives. If you’ve made it to V3, shift your focus to V4. Small steps help you keep momentum.

Depending on the gym, V-scale grades can vary a lot. If a V4 at your local gym feels easier or harder than a V4 elsewhere, that’s normal. Reading a conversion chart is useful if you relocate or climb in areas that utilize the Font scale, as well.

Climbing well requires more than pure strength. Flexibility and endurance are important factors, especially as routes become more challenging. Consistent stretching, core work, and aerobic training create a necessary foundation to make solid, progressive gains.

Becoming a member of the climbing community is essential. Whether it’s group sessions, sharing beta or simply discussing new issues to work on, staying engaged is key.

That community support gets you through the inevitable plateaus and makes the experience more enjoyable and less isolating.

A Brief History of Climbing Ratings

Climbing ratings allow people to gauge the difficulty of climbs around the world. The Font grading scale took form in Fontainebleau, France, where locals needed a way to rate bouldering problems. It uses numbers, letters and plus signs (6A+, etc.), and it predates the V scale by decades.

This set the precedent for bouldering ratings in much of Europe.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, the V scale took shape around 1990. In Hueco Tanks, Texas, John Sherman needed a simple way to grade the boulder problems in his guidebook. The V scale, starting at V0 as the easiest, provided an easy-to-understand climb-by-climb grade separation.

Today, it’s the standard bouldering scale in North America, and its adoption is increasing.

The evolution of climbing ratings has gone hand in hand with the growth of the sport. When the UIAA adopted its scale in 1967, it also took in an aid climbing scale running from A1 to A4, which later grew to A5.

Also in 1967, John Ewbank proposed an open-ended numerical grading system for Australia, which is now used in Australia and New Zealand. The British system, by contrast, uses two separate grades to convey risk and technical difficulty.

That two-part approach suits Britain’s focus on traditional routes. Over time, new systems appeared for different climbing styles, such as WI grades for ice and M grades for mixed climbing.

Climbing will always be subjective, and grades change as gear advances and more climbers climb hard routes.

Looking Beyond Font and V-Scale

Climbing is about much more than grades. Though Font and V-scale tend to steal most of the limelight, they only represent half the story. Most climbers dabble in a variety of grading systems to obtain the full picture. They take into account the American YDS, British E-grade, French sport grade, UIAA scale and Saxon scale. Each of these systems has its origins in a distinct style, geography, or climbing tradition.

The UIAA and French scales line up fairly closely at the easier grades, but they diverge as difficulty rises. Real-world cragging experiences show that grades often change from place to place, even from crag to crag.

It’s a fact that various climbing disciplines require various methods of measuring difficulty. Sport climbing, trad, bouldering, and mixed routes each present their own unique challenges. The Scottish Winter scale pairs a Roman numeral for overall difficulty with an Arabic number for the technical crux.

Some climbs demand pure power and technical skill, while others require you to dig deep for endurance or mental fortitude. This is the reason so many climbers turn beyond the Font and V-scale in isolation. They look at route quality, aesthetic appeal, intimidating moves, and the type of rock.

Why It Matters: Understanding local grading is essential, especially if you’re on the go. Famous scales such as Elbsandstein (Saxon scale), Peak District (British system), or Yosemite (YDS) each have their own twists. Because grades are not always a true reflection of capability, do the research and, more importantly, go by your own experience.

Learning to climb properly on different systems develops true skill and is what makes each ascent that much more satisfying.

Climbing Grade Conversions

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 6a+ mean in bouldering grades?

On the Font scale, which is widely adopted in Europe, 6A+ converts to around V3 on the American V-scale.

How do you convert 6a+ to the V-scale?

6A+ on the Font scale is roughly equivalent to a V3 on the V-scale. A French sport 6a+ route (5.10b) is a different scale. This will depend on each gym and location, but this is a solid rule of thumb.

Why is grade conversion between Font and V-scale tricky?

Personal strengths, conditions and local grading habits all play a big role in how difficult a climb feels.

Which scale should I use in the United States?

The V-scale is primarily used in the United States for boulder problem ratings. Nearly all the gyms and outdoor bouldering areas out here utilize it.

Are the V-scale and Font scale used for rope climbing?

No. Rope climbing uses other grading systems, such as the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) in the United States, or French sport grades.

What’s the main benefit of understanding both grading systems?

Understanding both scales helps you choose climbs safely and discuss your abilities with climbers around the world. It helps when you’re planning trips by allowing you to more easily and quickly select routes appropriate to your abilities.

Does a V3 always feel the same as a 6A+?

Not necessarily. Grades can feel easier or harder depending on style, location, setter, and weather. Use the grade as an indicator, but go with your own judgment.

Sources

International Climbing Grade Comparison Chart, Mountain Project
Scales of Difficulty in Climbing, UIAA
10 Things You Didn't Know about Bouldering Grades, Climbing