Editing Grade (climbing) (section)

===UIAA scale{{anchor|UIAA}}===

The [[Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme|UIAA]] scale (or UIAA Scale of Difficulty) for free climbing was developed from the original "Welzenbach scale" in 1967 and uses the Roman numerals of that scale with "+" and "−" symbols for refinement between numerals after Grade III (i.e. III, IV−, IV, IV+, V−, V, V+ etc.,).<ref name=CAI/><ref name=Rockfax/>  Initially, the UIAA scale was closed-ended and went from Grade I (easiest) up to Grade VI (hardest), where it stopped.  In 1978, the "seventh grade" was added—though climbers had been climbing at that level for years—and by 1985 it was formally made into an open-ended scale that went beyond Grade VII.<ref name=CAI/><ref name=FoHGrading>{{cite book | title=[[Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills]] | author=[[The Mountaineers (club)|The Mountaineers]] | date=October 2017 | edition=9th | chapter=Appendix A: Rating Systems | isbn=978-1-68051-004-1 | publisher=Quiller Publishing | pages=563–570}}</ref>

The UIAA scale is closely aligned with the French system up to Grade V+, which is French grade 5a, but thereafter begins to diverge, although the two can be reasonably aligned in [[#Comparison tables|comparison tables]].<ref name=CAI/><ref name=Rockfax/> The UIAA scale was at XII+ in 2023 with ''[[Silence (climb)|Silence]]'', which is French 9c. While the French system became the dominant scale in Europe, the UIAA scale is still popular in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.<ref name=CAI/><ref name=Rockfax/><ref name=ST/> The UIAA scale is also commonly found in the grading systems of [[alpine climbing]] routes, and particularly those that use the [[#International French adjectival system|French Alpine System]] (e.g. PD, D, TD, ED), where the UIAA scale is often used to grade the free climbing component.<ref name=CAI/><ref name=Ari3>{{cite web | website=Ari'sBaseCamp | url=http://ari.rdx.net/abc/pages/grade_rock.htm | title=Rock climbing grades| accessdate=7 September 2023 | date=2023 | first=Ari | last=Paulin }}</ref>