For Authors and Developers

Some conversions aren't worthwhile

Detect UK trad grading and avoid trying to convert it

a commit message from the ClimbingGradeConversionBot

Quantifying a Climb

What to record

Recording grade alone can be okay in limited contexts like a guidebook. Recording grade+scale+style guarantees a complete picture for the majority of technical climbs.

Some styles have their own scales
Some styles don't have an identifying scale (DWS, Sport, Trad are different but all share route grades)
Some styles use multiple scales

Are you implementing a system to support climb grades? There are a few good articles by theCrag: Grades, Route Gear Styles, Grades and Grade Conversions, Tick Types. You can also see this site's why page.

Free Climbing

boulder
sport
trad
solo
mixed
top-rope
dws
there are some niche styles, but they don't see net growth of their user base.

Aid Climbing

traditional
clean

Ice, Mixed, and Dry-Tooling

Mountaineering

Disciplines

These are yet-broader categories than styles.

Climbing disciplines are mostly defined by two choices:

what are you climbing? usually this comes down to some combination of three options:
- technical rock
- ice
- steep terrain and scrambling
what are you using to climb it?

Disciplines are mostly straightforward, and rar

A few widely-practiced activities are omitted: Canyoneering is skipped, because it focuses on technical descent. Gym climbing isn't mentioned because it hasn't (yet) been the source of a grading scale. Other disciplines aren't mentioned because they're still building a following and haven't been treeted to large-scale attention.