Climbing Calorie Calculator

Estimate calories burned while rock climbing based on body weight, session duration, route difficulty, and wall angle. Compare energy expenditure across difficulty levels.

Inputs

Body Weight

Session Duration

min

Difficulty Level

Wall Angle (from vertical)

Tab to move between fields

Results

Total Calories Burned

888 kcal

≈ 8 bananas

Calories per Hour

592 kcal/hr

MET Value8.05

Running Equivalent74 min

Walking Equivalent191 min

How to Use This Calculator

Enter your body weight in kg.
Input the total climbing time in minutes for your session.
Select the route difficulty level that best describes the hardest pitches you climbed.
Choose the wall angle — slab, vertical, or overhang — to account for the extra effort on steep terrain.
Read Calories Burned for the session and use it to plan your post-climb nutrition.
Check the MET Value to compare climbing's intensity against other aerobic activities.

How the result changes with Session Duration

Session Duration	Total Calories Burned	Calories per Hour
49	483 kcal	592 kcal/hr
169	1,667 kcal	592 kcal/hr
312	3,078 kcal	592 kcal/hr
432	4,262 kcal	592 kcal/hr

What each input means

Body Weight: Your body weight in kilograms. Heavier climbers burn more calories at the same intensity.
Session Duration: Total active climbing time in minutes. Exclude rest periods, socializing, and belaying time.
Difficulty Level: Overall difficulty: 1 = easy top-rope/bouldering, 2 = moderate sport, 3 = sustained trad, 4 = hard routes, 5 = projecting at your limit.
Wall Angle (from vertical): Degrees from vertical: -45 = slab, 0 = vertical, 30 = moderate overhang, 90 = roof. Overhanging terrain burns significantly more energy.

What each result means

Total Calories Burned: Estimated total energy expenditure for the climbing session.
Calories per Hour: Calorie burn rate per hour of active climbing at this intensity.
MET Value: Metabolic Equivalent of Task — ratio of climbing energy expenditure to resting metabolic rate.
Running Equivalent: Minutes of running at 6 mph that would burn the same number of calories.
Walking Equivalent: Minutes of brisk walking that would burn the same number of calories.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Body Weight = 70, Session Duration = 90, Difficulty Level = 2, Wall Angle (from vertical) = 10 = 4 input(s) provided
Calculate Total Calories Burned
888 = 888
Calculate Calories per Hour
Calories per Hour
592 = 592
Calculate MET Value
8.05 = 8.05
Calculate Running Equivalent
Running Equivalent
74 = 74

Engine last updated July 26, 2026. Checked against 1 independently-derived test — how we verify calculators.

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