The french system gives an overall difficulty grade to a route, taking into consideration the length, difficulty, exposure and commitment level (e.g. how hard it may be to retreat). These are, in increasing order:

‚Ä¢ F….. ……………….. ‚Äúfacile‚Äù – easy
‚Ä¢ PD………………….. ‚Äúpeu difficile‚Äù – a little difficult
‚Ä¢ AD………………….. ‚Äúassez difficile‚Äù – fairly difficult
‚Ä¢ D……………………. ‚Äúdifficile‚Äù – difficult
‚Ä¢ TD………………….. ‚Äútr?®s difficile‚Äù – very difficult
‚Ä¢ ED1/2/3/4………. ‚Äúextr?™mement difficile‚Äù – extremely difficult

Often a + or a – is placed after the grade to indicate if a particular climb is at the lower or upper end of that grade (e.g. a climb slightly harder than “PD+” might be “AD-”).

French rock climbing grades

The French grading system considers the overall difficulty of the climb, taking into account the difficulty of the moves and the length of climb. This differs from most grading systems where one rates a climbing route according to the most difficult section (or single move). Grades are numerical, starting at 1 (very easy) and the system is open-ended. Each numerical grade can be subdivided by adding a letter (a, b or c). Examples: 2, 4, 4b, 6a, 7c. An optional + (no -) may be used to further differentiate difficulty. Many countries in Europe use a system with similar grades but not necessarily matching difficulties.