Course Gradings

The aim of course grading is to help people select the right courses and to prepare for them appropriately. The grading system compares courses within the ISM programme and does not relate to any grading system used elsewhere. It is intended to supplement the section on each page entitled Who the course will suit.

Grades can never be precise. How a course actually runs depends on the weather, conditions in the mountains and the needs of course participants. We pride ourselves in adapting our programmes to give the best mountaineering week possible, taking all these factors into account.

We have graded according to how the course normally runs. With perfect conditions and weather, some itineraries may feel easier than others with a lower grade but completed in worse conditions. Hence grades should be taken as a rough guide only, but we hope they will be helpful. We welcome your views on them, either from past experience or after taking courses with us.

The grades range from 1 to 5 in ascending order of 'difficulty' or 'strenuousness' (i.e., fitness required). When a programme is very flexible, an 'intermediate' grade such as 4/5 is used.

Difficulty is an assessment of the 'technical difficulty' of the ground to be covered, from walking ground with easy scrambling at grade 1, to steep rock and ice climbing at grade 5.

Fitness. All our activities require a good level of fitness. A Grade 1 course can be completed by a generally fit and active person without special training. For a Grade 3 course you should be exercising regularly as part of your normal working week and be capable of long days of walking/scrambling in the British (or other) hills carrying a rucksack weighing around 12kg. Grade 5 courses require a dedicated effort on general training plus training specifically focussed on the course to be taken (e.g. Mont Blanc courses require very fit legs & lungs).

The table below allows a quick comparison between courses, which are presented in a roughly ascending order of difficulty / strenuousness.

SUMMER PROGRAMME

COURSE TITLE	DIFFICULTY	FITNESS
Oberland Trek	1	2
Zinal High Level Route	1	3
Zermatt High Level Route	1	3
Swiss Via Ferrata	2	1
Introductory Alpin-ISM	2	2
Student Alpine Week	2	2
Summits & Skills 4000m	2	3
Student Alpine Ascents	3	3
Classic 4000 - Saas Valley	3	3
Classic Alpine Summits	3	3/4
Classic Alpin-ISM	3	4
Classic 4000 - Monte Rosa Chain	3	4
Mont Blanc Special	3	5
Bernese Oberland 4000m Summits	3	5
Matterhorn Ascent	3	5
Technical Alpin-ISM	4	3
Alpine Rock - Skills & Climbs	4	3
Technical Alpine Skills	4	4
Eiger Ascent	4	4
Weisshorn Ascent	4	5
Technical Alpine Ascents	4/5	4
Technical Ascents Central Switzerland	4/5	4
Technical Peaks - Swiss Valais	5	5

WINTER PROGRAMME

COURSE TITLE	DIFFICULTY	FITNESS
Classic Alpine Icefalls	3	3
Ice Blaster Long Weekend	4	3
Alpine Winter Mountaineering	4	4
Technical Alpine Icefalls	4/5	3
Canadian Icefalls	4/5	4