6A is NOT 6a

Please, let's stop mixing up the Font 6A (assigned to boulders) with the French 6a (assigned to sports routes).

• If it's a capital letter that follows a number, it's a boulder grade.
• The hardest move on a 6A boulder is way harder than the hardest move on a 6a line.

In the big picture of things, grades hardly matter. I quote from a post from Climbing.com:

“Numbers got no soul. People need to get over that stuff.”

But we need to understand what grading systems mean. Because, otherwise, we won't be able to read guidebooks properly.

Here's a quick side note: In my home crag, we used to rate climbs with the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS). For example: 5.9, 5.11a, etc.

But as more local climbers traveled and worked abroad, they came back describing routes in the French system.

I prefer the French system for sports routes and the Vermin system for boulders. I can't explain why.