Climbing grade pyramid calculator

What is a grade pyramid?

A grade pyramid describes the base of completed climbs that supports your goal. At the top, a single send at the grade you are aiming for. Just below, two sends. Then four, then eight. Each easier level asks for twice as many sends as the one above it.

The idea was set out by Dale Goddard and Udo Neumann in Performance Rock Climbing (1993). Their observation: progress holds up best when the climbs you have done form a stable pyramid. A lone send well above the rest of your climbing often rests on a route that suited you particularly well. It does not yet mean you climb at that level.

Why build a base before aiming higher

A broad base does three things:

1. It builds your vocabulary. Every route teaches you moves, ways of reading the rock, foot placements. Eight routes at 6b+ teach you far more than a single 7a worked for weeks.
2. It makes you climb varied styles. A full pyramid inevitably holds slabs, overhangs, cracks, crimpy routes and juggy ones. That is what prepares you for the goal, whatever its style.
3. It limits injuries. Tendons adapt more slowly than muscles. Moving up a grade without enough volume is one of the quickest ways to a damaged finger pulley.

The pyramid is not a rule to follow to the letter. Trying your project before the base is full is still useful: you learn its moves and measure the gap. The pyramid simply shows you where to spend most of your sessions.

How to read the calculator

Pick your target grade. The calculator shows the levels below it and how many sends each one expects. Then enter the sends you have already done with the + and − buttons.

• The bars fill up as you add sends and turn green once a level is done.
• The verdict tells you which goal your base really supports, and what is missing to go for your target. A level counts as supported when every level below it is full.
• Only sends at the exact grade count. A 7b send does not fill your 6c+ level: it shows you are progressing, but it does not replace volume.

Two settings change the shape of the pyramid:

• The number of levels. Four levels (1, 2, 4, 8) are enough for most climbers. Five levels add a base of sixteen sends, useful if you want a very solid progression.
• The step between levels. By default, each level is one grade lower, "+" grades included: 7a, 6c+, 6c, 6b+. With one letter per step, the pyramid drops faster: 7a, 6c, 6b, 6a. That suits climbers who mostly climb outdoors, where "+" grades are less consistent.

The pyramid in Belgium

Indoors, filling a pyramid is mostly a matter of regular sessions: setters keep renewing the routes, so you quickly find several climbs at the same grade. On Belgian rock it is another story. Crags such as Freyr, Marche-les-Dames or Hotton have a reputation for stiff grades, and a given grade sometimes offers only a handful of routes. Many Belgian climbers therefore keep two pyramids: one for the gym, one for the crag.

For bouldering the principle is the same with Font grades: one 7A at the top, two 6C+, four 6C, eight 6B+. In gyms that grade by colour, pick the closest Font grade for each colour and stick to it.

When counting your sends, pick one style and keep to it: redpoint, onsight or flash. Mixing styles skews the base. And if you climb in another system, the climbing grade converter gives you the French or Font equivalent of your goal.

Looking for someone to fill your pyramid with? The guide how to find a climbing partner explains how to find a partner at your level.