| side grip | A (usually vertical) hold that needs to be gripped with a sideways pull. often just simply called a "side pull." |
| sticht plate | A belay device consisting of a flat plate with a pair of slots. named after the inventor franz sticht. |
| grigri | 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 ty... |
| locking carabiner | A carabiner with a locking gate, to prevent accidental release of the rope. |
| on-sight | A clean ascent, with no prior practice or beta. beta flash; |
| bashie | A copperhead intended for pounding into a crack |
| off-width | A crack that is too wide for effective hand or foot jams, but is not as large as a chimney. |
| pied à plat | A crampon technique in the french style: to climb on high-angle ice with feet flat on the ice (as opposed to front-pointing). |
| pied assis | A crampon technique in the french style: to rest on high-angle ice with one foot tucked under the buttocks, toes pointed straight down-slope. |
| pied marche | A crampon technique in the french style: to walk on low-angle ice with toes pointed straight ahead. |
| pied en canard | A crampon technique in the french style: to walk on moderate-angle ice with toes pointed outward; literally, "duck footed". |
| cleaning tool | A device for removing jammed equipment, especially nuts, from a route. also known as a nut key. |
| 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 mad... |
| dièdre | A dihedral. |
| diamox | A drug used to inhibit the onset of altitude sickness. otherwise known as acetazolamide. |
| 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. |
| 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 is frequently r... |
| low-angle | A face climb that is less than vertical; the opposite of an overhang or roof. |
| zipper fall | A fall in which each piece of protection fails in turn. |
| 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. |
| lead climbing | A form of climbing in which the climber places anchors and attaches the belay rope as they climb (traditional) or clips the belay rope into preplaced equipment attached to bolts (sport). |
| mountain rescue | A friendly team of people that may come and rescue you after an injury or accident. may also search for overdue climbers, at no small peril and expense. also see coroner and rescue doctrine of neg... coroner and rescue doctrine of negligence law; fall; |
| b-grade | A grading system for bouldering problems, invented by john gill. now largely superseded by the "v" grading system. |
| chalk bag | A hand-sized holder for a climber`s chalk that is usually carried on a chalkbelt for easy access during a climb. |
| ice axe | A handy tool for safety and balance, having a pick/adze head and a spike at the opposite end of a shaft. |
| back-clipping | 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 likel... |
| undercling | A hold or flake that is upside down. |
| woodie | 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 ... |
| swami belt | A kind of proto- climbing harness consisting of 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 co... |
| prusik | A knot used for ascending a rope. it is named after dr karl prusik, the austrian mountaineer who developed this knot in 1931. |
| haul bag | A large and often unwieldy bag into which supplies and climbing equipment may be thrown. |
| jug hold | A large, easily held hold. also known simply as a jug. |
| whipper | 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. |
| bivy-bag | A lightweight garment or sack offering full-body protection from wind and rain. |
| ice hammer | A lightweight ice axe with a hammer/pick head on a short handle and no spike. |
| nub | A little hold that only a few fingers can grip, or the tips of the toes. |
| cord lock | A lock or toggle used to fasten cords with gloved hands. used on most mountaineering gear. |
| cordelette | A long loop of accessory cord used to tie into multiple anchor points. |
| 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 ... |
| dulfersitz | 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... |
| doubled rope technique (ddrt) | A method used primarily by tree climbers where the rope passes over a support/limb and continuously slides over the limb as the climber ascends or descends. |
| 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. |
| eight-thousander | A mountain whose elevation exceeds 8,000 metres above sea level. there are fourteen such mountains on earth. |
| picknick stop | A no-hand rest. |
| static rope | A non-elastic rope. compare with dynamic rope. |
| yosemite decimal system | 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. ... |
| panic bear | A panicking novice climber clinging to hand holds while searching desperately for a foot hold. |
| 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... |
| tricam | A piece of rock climbing protection. |
| bachar ladder | A piece of training equipment used to improve campusing and core strength. |
| webelette | A piece of webbing with eyes sewn into the ends which can be used in place of a cordelette. |
| gendarme | A pinnacle or isolated rock tower frequently encountered along a ridge. острая скалистая вершина на гребне; |
| 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. nut; |
| atomic belay | A quick method for setting up a two-point anchor in sport climbing, using the climbing rope to attach to the anchor points. |
| climbing area | A region that is plentiful with climbing routes. |
| fixed rope | A rope which has a fixed attachment point. commonly used for abseiling or aid climbing. |
| ice screw | 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.<... |
| climbing command | A short phrase used for communication between a climber and a belayer. |
| munter hitch | A simple hitch that is often used for belaying without a mechanical belay device. otherwise known as an italian hitch or a friction hitch. |
| wires | A slang term for nuts. |
| 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. |
| screw on | A small climbing hold, screwed onto the wall in climbing gyms. can be used for feet in a route regardless of its colour. also referred to as a foot chip, chip or micro. |
| traditional climbing | A style of climbing that emphasizes the adventure and exploratory nature of climbing. while sport climbers generally will use pre-placed protection, many traditional (or "trad") climbers will plac... |
| sport climbing | A style of climbing where form, technical (or gymnastic) ability and strength are more emphasized over exploration, self-reliance and the exhilaration of the inherent dangers involved in the sport... |
| v-grade | A technical grading system for bouldering problems, invented by john sherman. |
| simulclimbing | A technique where both climbers move simultaneously upward with the leader placing protection which the second removes as they advance. a device known as a tibloc which allows the rope to only mov... |
| crash pad | A thick mat used to soften landings or to cover hazardous objects in the event of a fall. see: bouldering mat |
| verglas | 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. |
| bomb-proof anchor | A totally secure anchor. also known as a bomber. anchors are often misclassified as such. |
| american death triangle | A type of climbing anchor known for its weakness due to the physics of its construction. |
| gaston | A type of climbing grip. best described as a handhold that is only good from the side, but you must hold it with your elbows pointing out. |
| fist jam | A type of jam using the hand. see climbing technique. climbing technique; |
| direct aid | A type of tension climbing consisting of using one or more belay ropes to haul the leader up to the next point of protection. |
| glissade | A usually voluntary act of sliding down a steep slope of snow. |
| slcd | Abbreviation for spring-loaded camming device, a type of protection device. these are better known by the term cam. |
| rurp | Acronym, stands for realized ultimate reality piton. miniature, postage-stamp sized piton originally designed by yvon chouinard |
| 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. |
