Grades
Introducing Grade brackets
Yonder is now graded with our ‘slice’ system. There are 6 slices. The number of slices correlates to the level of difficulty. 1 being the easiest, 6 being the hardest. Simply find what level fits you and enjoy. Remember to occasionally try the next level up, you never know when it might be your day.
At Yonder we want you to have fun, be safe and fall in love with climbing. Many things contribute to this; the walls, the holds, the route setters we use and how often they come, even the music choice makes a difference. The main topic today however, is how we grade your routes.
Why Grades matter
Every boulder can contain a myriad of attributes, skills, and knowledge (beta). It's a creative problem solving exercise mixed in with a physical test piece.
At Yonder we want you to have fun, be safe and have the best opportunity to explore climbing movements and techniques no matter what your age, gender, experience, shape or size.
One of the ways we can help carve this pathway through climbing is with difficulty grades.
We find people are having their most fun when alongside a sense of progression. This comes when we are just outside of our comfort zone, but not too far that we have no chance and feel deflated! The more confidence we have, the more we can push that edge.
By grouping boulders into 6 brackets of difficulty we hope you can find your sweet spot. Some that give us confidence, others that push our abilities just the right amount.
We work hard to ensure each of the 6 brackets contains all the styles, techniques and tools you need to develop as a well rounded climbing legend.
Each level also overlaps a little so you can seamlessly slide your way into the next level up and prepare to learn some more.
Grades are a shared language between climbers, setters and coaches that most importantly help you the climber navigate this landscape of routes but also help the setters create the boulders, ensuring everyone has the spread of climbing that will be fun and progressive for all types.
Why the change
You may have noticed we used to give each boulder a specific ‘V’ number. The ‘V’ grade system is one of a few systems used on outdoor rock boulders, all around the world.
We have had a lot of both positive and negative feedback regarding this system, so we thought we should try out the alternative and see if we can learn.
Grades are used outside for the same reason as inside. The difference however is time and process.
As rocks don't have a habit of moving very far or changing very much, the climbing community has years and years to vote on what the agreed grade for a specific route is. At first, after a first ascent, the grade will be debated heavily with a variety of personal suggestions. Over time climbers of all shapes and sizes will climb the route and a consensus is found. This time is something we don't have when we reset so often. We do want a grade however and where that grade comes from is really important to our progression.
We are exploring when to replicate outdoor rock climbing in the indoor world, and when to recognise the beauty in difference.
Grades in our opinion is about communicating what this climbing has in store for you.
Just enough information to have fun and be safe, but not so much information that we are fenced in by detail.
We have heard that too much grade detail and it makes some people less likely to progress.
Imagine you try a V3 and it feels impossible. We can understandably feel that we can’t do V3’s yet. However, this may not be true. Maybe this style, technique or wall angle is not your best. Maybe you would walk up a different V3. In this case maybe you agree that the added detail doesn't make things more fun or safe. One person's V2 can feel like another person's V4, and vice versa.
By removing this specific grade and by placing it in a pool of carefully considered groups of difficulty, we hope you will find that some work for you and others don't, no connection to a grade to psych us out.