The Rock Climbing Rating Scale is used to rate the basic difficulty involved hiking and climbing.
Level of Difficulty |
Class |
normal walking and hiking |
1 |
simple scrambling with occasional need to use hands |
2 |
scrambling, with regular use of hands |
3 |
simple climbing, with or without a rope |
4 |
true rock climbing, with a rope |
5 |
aid climbing (climbing requires mechanical assistance, with nothing natural to hang onto) |
Aid |
where:
• Mechanical assistance may include pittons, a chain of slings, or pretied stirrups.
Class |
Consequence of a Fall |
1 |
minor injuries |
2 |
minor to moderate injury |
3 |
minor to severe injury |
4 |
severe injury or death |
5 |
severe injury or death |
Aid |
severe injury or death |
Class 5 is divided in the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) into 28 complexity levels.
Aid climbing can be subdivided into subgroups based on complexity or difficulty.
Specialty: Emergency Medicine, Critical Care