The www.alpineguides.info programme has courses and trips suitable for everyone with the fitness and stamina to climb and trek in the Alps. If you are not sure about your fitness and stamina then consider arranging for a private guiding arrangement which can be tailored to your needs. Information about grades is given in the different programmes. An explanation about alpine grades is below.
In 1973 the UIAA developed the following climbing classification system which has been widely adopted for giving an overall grade for seriousness and difficulty for alpine climbs worldwide:
| I | Facile (F) | ||
| II | Peu Difficile (PD) | ||
| III | Assez Difficile (AD) | ||
| IV | Difficile (D) | ||
| V | Très Difficile (TD) | ||
| VI | Extrêment Difficile (ED) | ||
The above 'overall' alpine grades are often used in combination with rock climbing grades (often sport climbing grades, but sometimes UIAA rock grades) to indicate the hardest moves or pitches. Angles are also used to indicate the steepness of any ice climbing (but increasing another numeral is used to indicate the level of difficulty for ice or mixed climbing).
Because the condition of snow, ice and mixed sections can vary enormously the grade only gives an indication for 'good' or 'normal' conditions. Often easier sections of climbs can be the most serious, and technical sections can offer greater security. It is also difficult to compare route grades for climbs that are relatively free from objective hazards with those that are more exposed. Hence, for alpine climbs, the conditions and weather at the time will determine if a particular climb or summit is a reasonable objective. However, the following is a general guide:
| F | Trekking snow summits and very easy climbs | ||
| PD | Typical normal routes with lots of moving together | ||
| AD | Harder and more serious routes with short pitches | ||
| D | Longer, harder ascents with more pitched climbing | ||
| TD | More serious and, or, have continuous pitched climbing | ||
| ED | Either even more serious and, or, harder climbing than TD | ||
Alpine routes of F and PD can be suitable for training ascents, but long PD routes (e.g. the normal routes on Mont Blanc) can be very serious and require good preparation and fitness. Some short AD routes are also suitable for training climbs.
Alpine routes of AD (e.g. normal routes on the Eiger and Matterhorn) are always more demanding undertakings that require good experience and climbing skills; they are often only possible when the weather and conditions are just right.
Alpine routes of D and above require a very good base of experience and skill, and usually are only possible when the weather and conditions are just right.
