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The process by which a climber may descend a fixed rope. Also known as rappel.
adze
A thin blade mounted perpendicular to the handle on an ice axe that can be used for chopping footholds.
alpine start
To make an efficient start on a long climb by packing all your gear the previous evening and starting early in the morning, usually well before sunrise.
An arrangement of one or (usually) more pieces of gear set up to support the weight of a belay or toprope
approach
The path or route to the start of a technical climb. Although this is generally a walk or, at most, a scramble it is occasionally as hazardous as the climb itself.
A hazardous mistake that can be made while lead climbing. The belay rope is clipped into a quickdraw in the wrong direction causing an increase in friction on the rope and an increase in the likelihood of the rope becoming unclipped during a fall.
bail
To retreat from a climb.
barn-dooring
Swinging out from the wall like a door on a hinge.
To protect a climber from falling using a rope, friction, and an anchor.
belay device
A mechanical device used to create friction when belaying by putting bends in the rope. Many types of belay device exist, including ATC, grigri, Reverso, Sticht plate, eight, and tuber. Some belay devices may also be used as descenders. A Munter hitch can sometimes be used instead of a belay device.
belay slave
Someone that volunteers for, or is tricked into, repeated belaying duties without partaking in any of the actual climbing.
A camp, or the act of camping, from "bivouac." On a big wall, camp can be made on a natural ledge or an artificial one, generally a cotlike device called a portaledge that hangs from anchors on the wall.
bivy-bag
A lightweight garment or sack offering full-body protection from wind and rain.
bollard
A large knob of rock or ice used as a belay anchor.
The practise of climbing on large boulders. Typically this is close to the ground, so protection takes the form of crash pads and spotting instead of belay ropes.
bump
To quickly move up a hand or a foot a small distance from one useful hold to another.
A compound used to improve grip by absorbing sweat. It is actually gymnastics chalk, usually magnesium carbonate. Its use is controversial in some areas.
A hand-sized holder for a climber's chalk that is usually carried on a chalkbelt for easy access during a climb.
chimney
A rock cleft with vertical sides mostly parallel, large enough to fit the climber's body into. To climb such a structure, the climber often uses his head, back and feet to apply opposite pressure on the vertical walls.
The process of using such a technique.
chock
A mechanical device, or a wedge, used as anchors in cracks.
A route that is free of loose vegetation and rocks.
To complete a climb without falling or resting on the rope. Also see redpoint.
In aid climbing, abbreviated "C", a route that does not require the use of a hammer or any invasive addition of protection (such as pitons or copperheads) into the rock (see protection).
cleaning tool
A device for removing jammed equipment, especially nuts, from a route. Also known as a nut key.
A small pass or "saddle" between two peaks. Excellent for navigation as when standing on one it's always down in two, opposite, directions and up in the two directions in between those.
A special purpose type of sling with multiple sewn, or tied, loops. It is significantly weaker than a normal sling.
dead hang
To hang limp, such that weight is held by ligament tension rather than muscles.
deadman anchor
An object buried into snow to serve as an anchor for an attached rope. One common type of such an anchor is the snow fluke.
deadpoint
A dynamic climbing technique in which the hold is grabbed at the apex of upward motion. This technique places minimal strain on both the hold and the arms.
A method of rappelling, without mechanical tools, where the uphill rope is straddled by the climber then looped around a hip, across the chest, over the opposite (weak) shoulder, and held with the downhill (strong) hand to adjust the shoulder friction and thus the descending speed.
dynamic belay
Technique of stopping a long fall using smooth braking to reduce stress on the protection points and avoid unnecessary trauma from an abrupt stop.
dynamic rope
A slightly elastic rope that softens falls to some extent. Also tend to be damaged less severely by heavy loads. Compare with static rope.
dynamic motion
Any move in which body momentum is used to progress. As opposed to static technique where three-point suspension and slow, controlled movement is the rule.
dyno
A dynamic move to grab a hold that would otherwise be out of reach. Generally both feet will leave the rock face and return again once the target hold is caught. Non-climbers would call it a jump or a leap.
A term from bouldering describing a move or series of moves in which either certain holds are placed 'off bounds' or other artificial restrictions are imposed.
exposure
Empty space below a climber, usually referring to a great distance above the deck through which the climber could fall.
F
face climbing
To ascend a vertical rock face using finger holds, edges and smears, i.e. not crack climbing.
fall
Undesirable downward motion. Hopefully stopped by a rope, otherwise see mountain rescue.
figure four
Advanced climbing technique where the climber hooks a leg over the opposite arm, and then pushes down with this leg to achieve a greater vertical reach. Requires strength and a solid handhold.
Climbing technique relying on the friction between the sloped rock and the sole of the shoe to support the climber's weight, as opposed using holds or edges, cracks, etc.
friend
A name brand of a type of spring loaded camming device (SLCD), sometimes used to refer to any type of spring loaded camming device.
A pinnacle or isolated rock tower frequently encountered along a ridge.
Geneva rappel
A modified dulfersitz rappel using the hip and downhill arm for friction, rather than the chest and shoulder, offering less complexity, but less friction and less control.
Trail mix for periodic nibbling to keep high energy level between meals on long climbs or hikes. An acronym for 'Good Ol' Raisins & Peanuts'
Grade
Intended as an objective measure of the technical difficultly of a particular grade climb or bouldering problem. More often is highly subjective, however.
A surveying term for referring to the slope of an incline.
A belay device designed to be easy to use and safer for beginners because it is self-locking under load. Invented and manufactured by Petzl. Many experienced climbers advocate the use of an atc type device for beginners
gripped
Scared. Also over gripping the rock.
grovel
To climb with obviously poor style or technique.
A climbing route judged to be without redeeming virtue.
See climbing harness. A sewn nylon webbing device worn around the waist and thighs that is designed to allow a person to safely hang suspended in the air.
haul bag
A large and often unwieldy bag into which supplies and climbing equipment may be thrown.
headwall
The region of a cliff or rock face that steepens dramatically.
Also known as a brain bucket or skid lid. It can save your life, but only while worn.
hexcentric
A protective device. It is an eccentric hexagonal nut attached to a wire loop. The nut is inserted into a crack and it holds through counter-pressure. Often just termed hex.
hold
A place to temporarily cling, grip, jam, press, or stand in the process of climbing.
honed
To be in peak mental and physical fitness for climbing.
A screw used to protect a climb over steep ice or for setting up a crevasse rescue system. The strongest and most reliable is the modern tubular ice screw which ranges in length from 18 to 23 cm.
ice piton
Long, wide, serrated piton once used for weak protection on ice.
A form of climbing in which the climber places anchors and attaches the belay rope as they climb.
leader fall
A fall while lead climbing. A fall from above the climbers last piece of protection. The falling leader will fall at least twice the distance back to her last piece, plus slack and rope stretch.
lieback
Or layback. A climbing move that involves pulling on the hands while pushing on the feet.
locking carabiner
A carabiner with a locking gate, to prevent accidental release of the rope.
M
mantle
A climbing move used to surmount a ledge or feature in the rock in the absence of any useful holds directly above. It involves pushing down on a ledge or feature instead of pulling down. In ice climbing, a mantle is done by moving the hands from the shaft to the top of the ice tool and pushing down on the head of the tool.
The external covering of a climbing rope. Climbing ropes use kernmantle construction consisting of a kern (or core) for strength and an external sheath called the mantle.
match
To use one hold for two limbs, or to swap limbs on a particular hold.
moat
A crevasse that forms where the glacier pulls away from a rock formation.
Danger in a climbing situation which comes from hazards inherent in the location of the climb, not depending on the climber's skill level. Most often these involve falling rock or ice, or avalanches.
off-width
A crack that is too wide for effective hand or foot jams, but is not as large as a chimney.
In the strictest climbing definition, a pitch is considered one rope length (50-60 meters). However, in guide books and route descriptions, a pitch is the portion of a climb between two belay points.
A flat or angled metal blade of steel which incorporates a clipping hole for a carabiner or a ring in its body. A piton is typically used in "aid-climbing" and an appropriate size and shape is hammered into a thin crack in the rock and preferably removed by the last team member.
pton catcher
clip-on string fastened to piton when inserting or removing, so as to avoid loss.
plunge step
An aggressive step pattern for descending on hard or steep angle snow.
positive
Of a hold or part of a hold, having a surface facing upwards, or away from the direction it is pulled, facilitating use.
pressure breathing
Forcefully exhaling to facilitate O2/CO2 exchange at altitude. Also called the "Whittaker wheeze".
A knot used for ascending a rope. It is named after Dr Karl Prusik, the Austrian mountaineer who developed this knot in 1931.
To use a Prusik knot for ascending a rope.
pumped
To have such an accumulation of lactic acid in the flexor digitalis (forearm), that forming even a basic grip becomes impossible. Often easy activities such as holding a joint become difficult or impossible.
A climb which receives a much lower grade than deserved. A traditionally protected climb can, if undergraded, be very dangerous, and the term sandbag is often said with a note of respectful dread.
A nylon webbing structure consisting of one large loop sewn up in multiple places to make a shorter length. In the event of a fall the sewn sections part, absorbing some of the fall energy and decelerating the climber.
Small, loose, broken rocks, often at the base of a cliff.
second
A climber who follows the lead, or first, climber.
self-arrest
The act of planting the pick of your ice axe into the snow to arrest a fall in the event of a slip. Also a method of stopping in a controlled glissade.
send
Cleanly completing a route. ie on-sight, flash, redpoint. Sometimes even on tr.
Starting a climb from a position in which the climber is sitting on the floor. This is common in climbing gyms in order to fit an extra move into the climb.
slab
A relatively low-angle (singinficantly less than vertical) section of rock, usually with few large features. Requires slab climbing techniques.
slab climbing
A particular type of rock climbing, and its associated techniques, involved in climbing rock that is less than vertical. The emphasis is on balance, footwork, and making use of very small features or rough spots on the rock for friction.
slack
Portion of rope that is not taught, preferably minimized during belay.
A form of climbing where grace and technical (or gymnastic) ability are considered more important than danger, exhilaration or brute strength. Sport climbing routes tend to be well protected with pre-placed bolt-anchors.
spotting
An alternative to belaying commonly used during bouldering. A friend of the climber stands beneath them and prevents awkward falls or falls onto hazards.
static
Of a style of climbing or specific move, not dynamic.
The simultaneous use of two widely spaced footholds.
Climbing using two faces that are at an angle (<180) to each other.
sticht plate
A belay device consisting of a flat plate with a pair of slots. Named after the inventor Franz Sticht.
stick clip
A device used in sport climbing to clip the first bolt. This is especially useful if the first bolt is high up, and out of the comfort zone of the climber. A stick clip can be bought, or easily made.
A kind of proto- climbing harness consisting or a long length of tubular webbing wrapped several times around the climbers body and secured with a water knot. Largely eschewed today in favor of commercial harnesses.
swinging-lieback
A dynamic form of the lieback described above, rotating off one foot while maintaining a grip with that hand, then grabbing a high handhold at the deadpoint of the swing. This move if frequently reversible, unlike more aerial dynos.
A technique for maintaining balance using a taught rope through a point of protection.
thrutching
Bad technique or 'body climbing' specifically at Mount Arapiles.
top rope
To belay from a fixed anchor point above the climb.
top-out
To go on to the top of a boulder while bouldering, or the top of a climb while top roping.
tramming
A technique that is typically used while cleaning gear from a steep route. A quickdraw is clipped between the climber's harness and the rope that is threaded through the gear. As the climber is lowered by the belayer, they will descend along the line of the gear.
A thin coating of ice that forms over rocks when rainfall or melting snow freezes on rock. Hard to climb on as crampons have insufficient depth for reliable penetration.
W
wand
A bamboo stick with a small flag on top used to mark paths over glaciers and snow fields.
Hollow and flat nylon strip, mainly used to make runners and slings.
weighting
As in, "weighting the rope." Any time the rope takes the weight of the climber. This can happen during a minor fall, a whipper (long fall), or simply by resting while hanging on the belay rope (see also hangdogging.)
A lead fall from above and to the side of the last clip, whipping oneself downwards and in an arc. Has come to be the term for any fall beyond the last placed or clipped piece of protection.
wired
To have the moves required for completing a climb memorized. See dialled.
A home made climbing wall. Often specifically a hybrid between a climbing wall and a fingerboard. Specifically called such because of the wooden panels (usually left unpainted) used to attach the climbing holds to.
A numerical system for rating the difficulty of walks, hikes, and climbs in the United States. The rock climbing (5.x) portion of the scale is the most common climb grading system used in the US. The scale runs from 5.0 to 5.15a (as of 2005)
Z
Z-clipping
clipping into an anchor with the segment of rope from beneath the previous anchor, resulting in an unsafe configuration of the belay rope.