British trad climbing. Here we give the low down on how to get started.

British trad climbing. The adjectival (letter) grade tells us how serious a route is - the availability, quality and ease of placing protection will all impact on this. We also have a Grades comparison table for converting between different grading system used around the world. Jul 8, 2025 · How does the traditional grading system work? The system for grading traditionally protected climbs in BMC guides is the traditional, two-part British grade, a combination of the adjectival and technical grades. Oct 22, 2020 · On Wednesday the 21st of October, 2020, James Pearson nabbed the second ascent of ‘Tribe’ at Cadarese, Italy, widely considered the hardest trad route in the world. Her exceptional CV of on-sights and flashes up to E8, alongside hard E9 headpoints, provides convincing evidence of her comfort on the sharp end and sets an impressive bar for modern day British trad climbing. Notable traditional climbing systems include the British E-grade system (e. The two parts identify two distinct route characteristics. This incredibly dense, well-cracked and featured rock type is one of the world's best trad climbing rocks. Sep 13, 2024 · British climbers have long been a force to reckon with in the world of outdoor and indoor climbing, showcasing grit, determination, and a unique approach to the sport. The lead climber places protection such as cams Hazel is a professional climber, speaker, and coach known for her bold and adventurous ascents. Trad routes don’t have bolts on them like sport and indoor routes. This is a list of climbers and mountaineers who are notable for their activities in mountaineering (including alpine climbing), rock climbing (including aid climbing, free climbing, bouldering, speed climbing and competition climbing) or in ice climbing (including mixed climbing). , E1 to E11) for traditional climbing routes. epictv. Parthian Shot, as it’s called, has seen the cream of British climbers come and go over the past two decades, but its recent remarkable ascent by James Pearson deserves a closer look at the history of this route, where you must not fall. UIAA grades are used mainly in Germany and around Europe for trad, though there are country-specific grading systems about. Apr 6, 2023 · To summarise: if the eGrader campaign succeeds, British trad climbing risks being transformed from being a democratic creative endeavour rooted in history to a being a game of chasing big grades decided and decreed by a spreadsheet masquerading as a privately-owned algorithm. In principle, any E-grade can also be perfectly safe, it just needs to be physically harder than a scary route of the same grade. Apr 21, 2024 · When you think of rock climbing meccas, the sheer granite of Yosemite or the sun-soaked limestone cliffs of Margalef might spring to mind, leaving the humble British Isles somewhat in the climbing shade. In my opinion I think the British trad grading system is too complex and involves far too many subjective factors to determine a grade. Got any corrections? Send them to corrections@climbing-history. Looking for something interesting? Why not check out: The strongest female boulderers in the world The hardest boulder problems in the world The Stonemasters British climbers are blessed with a choice of hundreds of crags, varying from bolted, single-pitch sport venues to multipitch trad routes in remote mountain areas. The British trad rock climbing grades start at Moderate (M) and go through to Extreme 1-11 (E1, E2, E3 etc. It may seem confusing to those not used to the system, eg, climbers who might have only A Bouldering Circuit at Robin Hood's Stride and Cratcliffe Shauna Coxsey's Favourite Font 7s - The Peak Categories Adventure Sports Bouldering Competitions Deep Water Soloing Gear Hill Walking Historical Instruction News Photography Product Videos Running Sport climbing Trad climbing Trade Shows Reports Trailers Winter and Alpine 7 5 Crown Mountain crag Alpine climbing, Trad climbing and Rock climbing 10 5 270m Aug 1, 2024 · Featuring never-seen-before interview footage with Ken describing just why he was so passionate about British trad climbing, reconstructions of his early climbing adventures, plus Steve McClure, Calum Muskett and Michaela Tracey climbing three iconic routes, this film is a 20-minute trad treat. Scary doesn’t necessarily mean lethal, however, and subsequent videos of the crux whip have highlighted the wiggle room within the E11 grade. Mar 19, 2024 · Neil Gresham explains the often-baffling British grading system—and why the “eGrader” app can keep it afloat. g. The system for grading traditionally protected climbs in BMC guides is the traditional, two-part British grade, a combination of the adjectival and technical grades. Here we give the low down on how to get started. Feb 21, 2024 · After recent discussions I've had with people I wanted to give my option on the British trad grading system. Any grade can be so bold you're practically soloing, the climbing just needs to be really physically easy for the grade. Indeed, Britain’s Blind British paraclimber Jesse Dufton has repeated the famous trad climb The Sloth at The Roaches in England. This ‘probably safe’ trad route clocks in at 9a or E12, making it the highest-graded trad in British grading. A trad apprenticeship here will set you up to climb anywhere in the world. 15 first ascents, and visited Squamish for the Petzl rock trip in 2005 where he climbed the Grand Wall with Chris Sharma Apr 4, 2023 · But the eGrader will lessen the abundance of outliers (partly through increased discussion as to why they’re outliers), and also help reopen the compression that’s developed at the top end of British trad climbing. Other similarly priced services are available. Dec 14, 2023 · Trad climbing in the UK holds itself to very high standards, from the ethical purity of the boltless approach to the often “sandbagged” nature of the most famous cliffs. 13 big walls. Germany and Central Europe: The UIAA Grading System, using Roman numerals from I (easiest) to XII (hardest), is popular in these regions. She is also the founder of Strong Mind mental training company. Sep 11, 2024 · Explore the top trad climbing destinations in North America, featuring world-class routes, breathtaking landscapes, and challenges for climbers of all levels. Apr 4, 2023 · But the eGrader will lessen the abundance of outliers (partly through increased discussion as to why they're outliers), and also help reopen the compression that's developed at the top end of British trad climbing. She was the first female British climber to climb a route graded E9, and a route graded 8c (5. The outcome paints an unclear picture of a route because there are so many possibilities that give the route that grade. Every crag is different and Sep 7, 2023 · It’s one of the most famous routes in the UK: on the famous “gritstone”, in trad climbing of course. These systems grade technical difficulty being the main focus of the lower-risk activity of sport climbing. What is the benefit in risking fatal or catastrophic injury? Jan 15, 2025 · Trad climbing is a unique challenge that tests your strength, endurance, technique, and mental resilience, making it deeply rewarding. Strong British Female Trad Climbers Women in the UK who have trad climbed E7 or harder. Not already a member? Sign up for free and join our growing global community of rock climbers. In 2017, he created Rainman, Britain's first-ever 9b (5. First ascended by in 1966 by Chris Bonington, Tom Patey and Rusty Baillie, this 6-pitch outing is a true symbol of British rock climbing. Hazel Findlay supplies perspective on the strange craft of Convert North American climbing grades to UK and European scales, and compare bouldering V-grades to roped climbs. Seana Mheallan is a small hill, not even big enough to be a "Donald," let alone a "Munro. Download Bouldering Grade PDF – Comparison between Font, V and UK tech grades. Dec 10, 2019 · Trad grades Looking first at British trad grades and starting with the technical grade. After all, Britain isn’t exactly famed for its glorious weather or towering rock faces that climbers dream of. K. Why We Love British Trad Climbing! Why we love British trad climbing! ISM Director and British Mountain Guide Adrian Nelhams, who lives in the Lakes, tells us what he loves about British trad and his approach to going climbing… Almost throw away your guidebook for the day and just go out and enjoy the adventure that is British Trad Climbing. 15b) sport route, and by that stage was responsible for developing the majority of routes graded 9a (5 Feb 28, 2016 · How does the BMC traditional grading system work? Niall Grimes takes a look. 13a X), the first-ever E9-graded route, and was considered one of the hardest traditional climbing routes in the world. British (Traditional): this complex system includes two grades: the adjectival grade (overall difficulty) and the technical grade (specific moves' difficulty). In practice it is now only used for traditionally protected routes (routes where you hand-place your own gear or where there is only very limited fixed protection - bolts, pegs, threads). That's not how UK trad grades work. May 6, 2022 · Is British trad an audacious game of risk or merely a fast track to a Darwin award? In 2000, while following in the footsteps of his heroes, a young James McHaffie booted up in front of the famed Masters Wall and launched upwards. Although bolted sport climbs tend to be given a single French grade, traditional Emma Twyford is one of the reigning queens of British climbing, best known for her trad climbing prowess. Jan 28, 2022 · While both sport climbing and trad climbing share the same YDS grading system, the techniques involved in crack climbing with gear versus face climbing on expansion bolts make comparing route grades somewhat tricky. Strong British Male Trad Climbers Men in the UK who have trad climbed E9 or harder. May 21, 2025 · 3Czech climber Adam Ondra has made history by completing the first-ever flash ascent of the British trad climb Lexicon (E11 7a) at Pavey Ark in England’s Lake District. What is trad climbing? What is trad gear? How do you learn trad climbing? Find out the basics about becoming a trad climber from an AMGA-certified Rock Guide. Trad climbing is a unique challenge that tests your strength, endurance, technique, and mental resilience, making it deeply rewarding. Aug 27, 2019 · In reply to Kees: It's a bit difficult to actually map it, because French grades assume bolts and so perfect safety throughout the route (much as a big fall may be scary). “Numbers” - the technical grade - how hard it is to climb. What followed was a four hour fight for survival. Sep 29, 2021 · Words with Steve McClure on Hard British Trad and Whippers He's known for difficult trad sends and 5. The 34-year old British crack climbing phenom has known about the line for a decade but lacked the confidence that it was protectable or possible. 14 trad lines, and 5. The idea of the Trad Grade is to give a representation of the whole climb, including overall difficulty, how good the trad climbing gear is (or isn’t) and the hardest single move on the route. It has seen ascents by trad dad James Pearson, to 9c sport climber, Adam Ondra. The most controversial grades of all. The adjectival grades range from Easy to E11, while the technical grades range from 3 to 7b. Feb 26, 2021 · Roped climbing As roped climbing evolved in separate countries across the world, so different grade systems appeared, most of which are frustratingly difficult to compare. A spate of recent activity, fueled by cold conditions, has now put a question mark on what was hitherto believed to be absolute limit, with new routes, hard repeats and even night repeats being the name of the game Jun 27, 2025 · We could almost feel the fear, and the drone shots of the setting only adds to the atmosphere, it really ticks what is special about hard British Trad climbing on mountain crags. Steve McClure (born 25 July 1970) is a British rock climber and climbing author, who is widely regarded as Britain's leading and most important sport climber for a period that extends for over two decades, starting from the late 1990s. This is a numerical value, usually starting from 4 and going up to 7, followed by a letter ‘a’, ‘b’ or ‘c’ and which follows the adjectival grade. So if you have a VS 5a (which according to the Rockfax table you typically wouldn't have, but hey) and Jun 15, 2022 · E11, for those unfamiliar with British trad-climbing grades, is a fearsome number that roughly translates to scary 5. Meaning that for example if you look at a crag in Australia you will most likely see sport and trad climbing grades displayed in Ewbanks and bouldering grades in V-scale. Oct 24, 2018 · Designed to be used as a pair, half ropes help reduce drag on long, wandering pitches, or routes on which gear is placed to either side of the climber. In this article, we explore some of the most talented British climbers British trad takes passive pro better and pretty much everyone uses a single sling instead of a quad. ). comThanks to all the good weather in the UK, there has been some impressive trad climbing going on: C Jan 6, 2024 · When you start climbing, one of the trickiest things to grasp is the abundance of grading systems for different types of climbing. The lists are broadly categorised to make them a little easier to browse. ly/3bxzYx4 Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of British Trad climbing grades. org 19 entries on the list. Whereas British trad grades consider not only the technical difficulty of the climb, but also how well protected it is. Here we give the low down on how to get started, in an extract from our new special edition magazine: Get into Climbing. Moved PermanentlyThe document has moved here. This list aims to be definitive in terms of the people included but does not attempt to enumerate every relevant ascent. All are good ropes, and any is worth having, but British men who have onsighted or flashed E7 or harder. With the appropriate skills, training, and equipment you really do have the ability to go anywhere. The ascent has been described by those who know as redefining the word 'impressive'. Not So Trad, LGBTQ+ Climbers is an LGBTQ+ climbing club, largely based in London but with members spread across many parts of the UK and further afield. org 37 entries on the list. I think the grading system Aug 26, 2007 · The British Trad Grade appears to be a mystery to those used to other systems and is thought to be the most versatile system by those who use it regularly. Yosemite Decimal System (YDS), Font, French, Alpine, British Trad, British Tech—the list goes on. For route climbing, trad and bouldering. In the hierarchy of rock climbing pursuits, traditional climbing is widely regarded as the one to aspire to. The Youth Ready to Rock Trad climbing course is designed to help young climbers (11-17 year olds) make their first moves onto rock by having a fun day out, as well as covering the use of some key skills and equipment, for both the participant and the parent/carer. Mar 13, 2016 · The British Isles is famous for having some of the best trad climbing in the world, and for good reason: it’s all packed into a relatively small area, yet offers a huge variety of rock types and styles of climbing. Download UK Trad Grade Conversion Table PDF – Compare UK trad grades with the main international grading systems. With a deep background in British trad climbing, first ascents, and remote expeditions, she has also excelled across disciplines—climbing 9a sport routes, 5. Indian Face is a 45-metre (148 ft) traditional climbing route on the rhyolite "Great Wall" of the East Buttress of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, in Wales. Strongmen abound in the British trad climbing scene, including the famous Wide Boys, Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker, whose ascent of the Century Crack (5. This system contains two distinct parts, explained below: Jun 5, 2019 · Blind British paraclimber Jesse Dufton, guided by his climbing partner Molly Thompson, has repeated world famous trad climb The Old Man of Hoy off the Orkney Islands in Scotland. What's the Deal with British Trad Climbing? || E Grades Explained Little explainer of British trad grades, enjoy! Beginner Experienced Advanced Expert Elite Colour bands indicate equivalent overall difficulty across different climbing types taking account of protection and environment. 14. Yosemite Decimal System, French, UIAA, British UK, British Trad Grade, and Australian. The British Trad Grade is a compound grade evolved from a climbing ethic strongly biased towards onsight traditional or ‘trad’ climbing. From conquering iconic trad routes to mastering cutting-edge boulder problems, these athletes have consistently pushed the boundaries of what is possible. This table contains just a few of the different roped climbing grading scales; for simplicity’s sake, we’ll stick to the main ones! In the UK, you’ll find the French sport grades (left column) and British trad grades. Oct 18, 2021 · Trad Climbing tends to stick to the YDS – Yosemite Decimal System – for Trad and Sport, and the UK uses British Trad Grades. Trad climbing offers an unparalleled sense of freedom. 14c (8c+). The American system adds an R/X suffix to traditional climbing routes to reflect the additional risks of climbing protection. 14b). We are a very friendly group of climbers of all ages, grades and aspirations. Jul 3, 2025 · Not already a member? Sign up for free and join our growing global community of rock climbers. Over summer and autumn we've been putting six pairs of all-round half ropes to the test. We’re incredibly lucky to have these resources available on our doorstep. Unlike sport climbing and bouldering, trad climbing grades are influenced by factors such as route protection, rock quality, and environmental conditions, making them more variable and open to interpretation. It was first introduced in the early 20th century and has since become widely adopted in these regions. We recommend Instantprint where an A1 poster costs around £16 (+VAT and delivery). " But despite it's humble stature, Seana Mheallan rises several hundred meters above the centre of Torridon valley, the heartland of the famed Torridon sandstone. Bon Voyage is one of the hardest trad routes in the world. If you look at a crag in France, you will most likely see sport and trad climbing grades displayed in French scale and bouldering grades in Fontainebleau scale. 's top trad climbers to help linearize E grading, eGrader is a new website that determines the E grade of a route Sep 15, 2012 · British Trad Grades: Widely misunderstood by anyone but the Brits but actually a very simple and effective system. Also leaders will direct belay their partner off the anchor more often. She did the third ascent of the Yosemite traditional route Magic Line 5. Given that bolt anchors would take absolutely nothing away from the climbing experience what are we so against safe anchor points? I'm not for one minute suggesting we do bolt crag tops, just interested to hear why this is such an anathema to British Learn everything about the grading systems used in rock climbing. Jul 11, 2014 · Different countries and rock climbing disiplines have different grading systems, for example the the British trad grade system (e. 3. Traditional climbing (or trad climbing) is a type of free climbing in the sport of rock climbing where the lead climber places temporary and removable protection while simultaneously ascending the route; when the lead climber has completed the route, the second climber (also called the belayer) then removes this protection as they ascend the Trad grades are split into two parts. As some of these become more and more popular, climbers also have more of a responsibility to understand the relevant access and conservation issues so we can continue to enjoy these areas sustainably. British trad climbing is steeped in history, with a strong emphasis on ethics and the adventure of onsighting—starting from the ground with no prior experience or information. Dec 10, 2021 · British Trad Grades and Gritstone Climbing: A Primer British trad grades are unlike climbing grades anywhere else in the world. Pushing the psychological limits has long been the name of the game of trad climbing in Britain. There are grade systems for bouldering, grade systems for sport climbing, grade systems for aid climbing and so on but even grade systems for the same style don’t always translate well between each other. 5. Jul 24, 2015 · Trad climbing is undoubtedly the principal discipline of the British climbing scene. The reason being that the width of grades on a specific scale are not comparable or that grades are not linear across the whole scale. Since that describes most British trad, climbing with a pair of half ropes is really our default option. org 111 entries on the list. Jul 2, 2025 · Featuring never-seen-before interview footage with Ken describing just why he was so passionate about British trad climbing, reconstructions of his early climbing adventures, plus Steve McClure, Calum Muskett and Michaela Tracey climbing three iconic routes, this film is a 20-minute trad treat. From Yosemite to Indian Creek, these destinations offer unforgettable climbing adventures. I dig mixed trad and slab (a lot!), and even short scary runouts but falling on a cam from 15ft is a little different than a hook. UK grades, French system and US grading. Mar 27, 2020 · Get some trad climbing gear: https://bit. See the Rockfax grade table presented below for the full list. 14b) in Canyonlands, Utah, made their crack climbing method well-known worldwide. Jul 10, 2024 · Trad climbing is a form of rock climbing that involves placing your own protection gear as you climb. E4 6a). Don't know your VDiff from your HVS? Baffled by E3? Matt goes through Trad climbing offers an unparalleled sense of freedom. The system for grading traditionally protected climbs in BMC guides is the traditional, two-part British grade, a combination of the adjectival and technical grades. Trad climbing 101 Learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about trad climbing including the skills, gear, and popular destinations. Jun 13, 2014 · Trad climbing offers an unparalleled sense of freedom. Instead, it offers unpredictable weather, gritty (and sketchy) trad routes, and Mar 30, 2024 · British Trad Grade We can’t talk about trad without addressing the elephant in the room, British trad grades. Apr 15, 2007 · Route Finder - Best Climbs for YOU! Classic Climbing Routes at British Columbia Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area. , Moderate, Severe, Extremely Severe) and a technical grade (e. The British E grade system is a unique grading system used primarily in the UK for grading traditional rock climbing routes. UK Climbing is the definitive source for all Climbing and Mountain-related activity. Unlike many other grading systems that focus solely on the technical difficulty of the hardest move, the E grade system Jul 4, 2025 · The British Isles is famous for having some of the best trad climbing in the world, and for good reason: it’s all packed into a relatively small area, yet offers a huge variety of rock types and styles of climbing. Jan 24, 2025 · If you want to read about gradings for bouldering, read this page from the ROCKFAX site. If you want to read about route gradings, and especially how to understand the "two-tiered" British one, read on. It possesses all of the grit of Jul 4, 2025 · The British Isles is famous for having some of the best trad climbing in the world, and for good reason: it’s all packed into a relatively small area, yet offers a huge variety of rock types and styles of climbing. [4][5 Jun 5, 2023 · The British trad climbing grades sort of combines these into one all-encompassing grade that theoretically should show the overall difficulty of a route as well as a difficult section on the route. Jul 12, 2013 · Watch original web series on EpicTV first at www. It may seem confusing to those not used to the system, eg, climbers who might have only climbed indoors, or who have only sport climbed (These both tend Jun 23, 2024 · The British Adjectival System, also known as the Brit system, is a traditional climbing grading system used primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Lexicon, first ascended by Neil Gresham in 2021, is considered one of the hardest trad routes in the world, combining 8b+ sport-climbing difficulty with serious fall potential —a 25-30 meter drop from the crux headwall Mar 25, 2024 · Converting trad climbing grades presents a unique challenge for climbers due to the subjective nature of traditional climbing routes. Lists Lists that help to highlight interesting snippets of climbing history such as notable climbers and ascents. She has free climbed El Capitán four times on four different routes and made many first female ascents on other Jan 10, 2023 · Mountain guide Polly Harmer writes about her journey from keen British trad climber to alpine addict British trad is currently experiencing some important moments with three cutting-edge ascents on the beautiful and wild sea cliffs at Pembroke carried out by England's James Pearson, his French wife Caroline Ciavaldini and by the 45-year-old Japanese climbing legend Yuji Hirayama. When English climber Johnny Dawes completed the first free ascent of the route on 4 October 1986, it was graded E9 6c or (5. Hazel Findlay (born May 1989) is a British traditional climber, sport climber and big wall climber. United Kingdom: The British Trad Climbing Grades are used, which have an adjectival grade (e. Jun 27, 2025 · Trad climbing Featured Playlists The Ticklist Lee Sungsu and his Burden of Dreams epic Compare sports climbing grades across different systems. “Letters” - the adjectival grade - how hard it is to protect. We are the central source of information for climbing in the UK, and the best place to start your climbing on the British (Traditional): this complex system includes two grades: the adjectival grade (overall difficulty) and the technical grade (specific moves' difficulty). grade HVS 5 (a)) and the US point grading system (e. Apr 5, 2023 · A New Tool for Understanding the British E-Grade System Developed by some of the U. 9) Take a sport climber on a trad climbing trip to the UK, the centre of trad? Good idea! My brother Lukáš (the sport climber) is in for a surprise!. On 16/05/2025 Czech climber Adam Ondra made the first-ever flash ascent of a British trad climb graded E11, Lexicon at Pavey Ark in England. Trad climbing is the most popular style of climbing on British crags. Aug 10, 2020 · We (UK) climbers accept a dodgy pile of string and blobs of wobbly nuts or twigs and grass over a bolt anchor for abseiling most trad routes. ojikasv iapftc txiria obhsgdmo aqct bygf qmpdjeqw cqelvo uxkrnz bbihxb