If you’re new to climbing, you might find that seasoned climbers seem to speak a language all of their own. They do… kind of. In the U.S, Canada, and other Commonwealth countries, climbing speak is actually derived from English and contains many words also found in its parent language. Despite this, many neophytes are baffled by some of its terminology, and I’m regularly asked to explain the difference between words like ‘deadpoint’ and ‘dyno’. Luckily, you now have this article – a handy reference for all things climbing.
Styles of climbing
Sport climbing
Climbing routes that are protected with bolts. Often referred to simply as Sport. Also the most popular type of climbing.
Trad
Traditional climbing. This involves climbing routes which are protected with pieces of removable gear (see active pro and passive pro) placed by the leading climber.
Bouldering
Climbing short, challenging walls or boulders without a rope. When attempting these ‘problems’, climbers are protected by boulder pads placed on the ground.
Highball
High bouldering. Climbing higher than normal bouldering height and into broken ankle territory.
Free solo
Climbing without gear (other than shoes and chalk bag). Always risky.
DWS
Deep water soloing. That’s climbing above deep water with no gear.
Free climbing
A type of climbing in which you use only your hands and feet to ascend a rock face. All the styles of climbing listed above are types of free climbing.
Aid climbing
A type of climbing in which you pull on the gear to ascend a route – as opposed to using it just for safety and descending as with free climbing.
Cragging
Climbing low commitment routes at an area that’s a short walk from the car (usually under an hour). A relaxed climbing outing.
Styles of ascent
Send
Any kind of lead ascent in free climbing where the climber does not fall or rely on the gear.
Onsight
The most difficult form of ascent. To climb a route clean (bottom to top without relying on the gear) on the first attempt with no prior knowledge of that route.
Flash
To climb a route clean on the first attempt but with prior knowledge of the route. Boulders that can be inspected from the ground before the first attempt can only be flashed and not onsighted.
Redpoint
To climb a route clean after having spent some time on it rehearsing the moves. To claim a send as a true redpoint, the climber has to hang the draws while climbing.
Pink point
Similar to a redpoint in that the route is climbed clean only after previous attempts, only now the draws are already hanging on the route when the climber starts. Easier than a red point.
Headpoint
To climb a route, usually a dangerous trad line, on lead after rehearsing the moves and gear placements beforehand on top-rope.
Ground up
To climb a route by starting at the bottom and working your way up. The climber might take some falls, but eventually climbs the route clean. The alternative is to pre-inspect the route while rappelling or top-roping.
First ascent (FA)
The first person to climb a route claims the FA and gets to name and grade it. Amongst driven and adventurous climbers, FAs are much sought after.
Crush
To send a route with power and style
Sharp end
To take the sharp end is to lead a route. That means starting a climb with the rope on the ground and clipping it into gear as you go.
Top-rope
To climb a rope with the rope running through gear at the top anchors. Usually a safe way to climb as falls are limited and soft
Follow
To climb a route after the leader, who then belays from above. It is common to follow on trad routes and multi-pitch sport routes. The following climber is also called the second.
Types of holds & rock features
Mono
A pocket that takes only a single finger. Usually only found on hard routes.
A hole in the rock large enough to take two fingers, sometimes three.
Hueco
A crater-like depression in the rock. These can be juggy, slopey, or crimpy.
Sloper
A slopey or non-positive hold that has to be held with an open hand
Crimper
A small edge that has to be held in a crimp – that is with knuckles bent and fingertips angled downwards
Edge
A more or less square-cut hold bigger than a crimp but smaller than a rail
Pinch
A protruding rock feature that you pinch between fingers and thumb to generate purchase
Jug
A large in-cut hold that you can get your whole hand in. Also known as a bucket
Rail
A horizontal crack that is relatively square-cut and uniform inside
Undercling
A downward facing hold. This is almost always grabbed palm-up.
Crack
The vertical kind. Dictates a whole different climbing technique and is usually only mastered by trad climbers.
Off-width
A crack wider than your fist. Requires special techniques such as hand and foot stacking and is synonymous with ‘sufferfest’
Chimney
A crack big enough to climb into
Dihedral
Also known as an open book corner. A corner that is roughly 90 degrees or wider
Arete
A large edge of rock protruding from the main wall. This can be rounded and blunt or sharp. Essentially the inverse of a dihedral
Face
A relatively featureless and vertical section of rock. Favoured by sport climbers, who protect them with bolts.
Slab
A wall that is less than vertical and has even smaller features. This type of terrain often calls for a technique that involves smearing and precision balance.
Chockstone
A rock that is tightly wedged in a crack
Route descriptions
Run-out
Describes a route with large gaps between gear placements or bolts. Committing
Exposed
Terrain that feels high and ‘out there’
Sandbagged
More difficult than the advertised grade suggests
Crux
The hardest part of a route
Pump fest
Pumpy. Strenuous enough to induce lactic overload in the forearms
Technical
Requires intricate movement and skill
Chossy
Loose, dirty, and often dangerous
Bomber
Bombproof, solid, excellent. Used to describe both rock quality and gear placements
Clean
Not dirty or lichenous
Flared
Describes a crack that widens outwards. Not positive. Difficult to protect and move off
Movement techniques
Scum
To force a limb into the rock to get extra purchase (even if it’s marginal). The most commonly used scumming technique is the kneebar.
Crimp
A type of grip in which the knuckles are flexed in a way that puts your fingertips at a 90 degree angle to a hold. Usually used on small holds with defined edges
Hand jam
A technique that involves camming your hand inside a crack to obtain a purchase
Fingerlock
Involves camming two or three fingers into the sides of a thin crack or tapered pocket. Like a hand jam but for smaller features
Ringlock
Using your index finger and thumb to create a ring – with the tip of both finger and thumb touching – around a constriction in a crack
Sidepull
Pulling away from a vertical hold to enable upward movement
Gaston
Pushing into a vertical hold with the hand turned outwards.
Layback
Climbing a vertical crack by opposing repeated and strenuous sidepulls with smeared feet
Rock-over
To gain height by rocking one’s centre of gravity onto a high foothold
Deadpoint
A semi dynamic move in which the climber lunges to a hold at the limit of their reach. At least one foot and one hand maintain contact with the rock throughout the move.
Dyno
A move in which a climber throws herself towards a hold that would otherwise be out of reach. In a dyno, both feet leave the rock.
Campus
To climb using only your arms
Mantle
A move used to get onto a ledge. Similar to how you get out of the pool – by pushing down on your palms
Drop-knee
A move used on steep rock. One knee is rotated inwards and downwards to get one hip closer to the wall and extend your reach. Also known as Egyptian
Kneebar
A resting position afforded by scumming a knee under or behind a feature in the rock. A good kneebar will get you a no-hands rest.
Smear
Footwork that involves pressing the sole of your shoe (under your toes) into a featureless section of the rock to gain purchase
Edging
Using the edge of your shoes to gain purchase on a feature in the rock. This can be instepped (using the inside of your foot) or backstepped (using the outside of your foot).
Heel hook
Use of the heel to grip and pull the body up or sideways (to enable compression). Heel hooks can also afford good rests.
Flag
Holding a leg out to improve balance during a move.
Bridge
A move in which you push your feet into the opposite sides of a chimney or dihedral to obtain purchase. Also known as stemming.
Crank
To pull hard on a hold. Doesn't actually necessitate the use of technique.
Other techniques
Gardening
To clean vegetation off a climb
Cleaning
To redirect the rope from the quickdraws at the top of a route through the top anchors themselves. This allows a climber to remove their quickdraws from the top anchors before lowering off.
Stick clip
To use a stick or special pole to clip the first or even second bolt. Useful if the these lower clips would be sketchy
Hangdogging
Hanging on the rope (on lead) to figure out the moves
Project
As a verb, this means to figure out all the moves on a route over a series of sessions before linking them in a send.
Soft catch
To catch a falling climber softly. The belayer achieves this by making a small jump as the rope tightens in a fall.
Prusik
To ascend a rope using prusik knots. A self-rescue technique
Jumar
To use a toothed ascending device to go up a fixed rope. Commonly used in big wall climbing, where the seconder sometimes ‘jugs’ or jumars up behind the leader.
Bivy
Bivouac. To camp temporarily with little or no shelter
Down climb
To climb down a route. Used when lowering off or rappelling is not an option
Shake out
To reduce lactic acid levels in your forearms by giving them a gentle shake, thereby encourage blood circulation.
Hanging belay
A multi-pitch belay stance with no little or no ledge to stand on.
Equipment
Pro
Protection. Trad gear that attaches to the rock and which you clip the rope through. Protection can be active or passive.
Active pro
Protection that has moving parts – often springloaded. These include cams, BallNutz, and Big Bros.
Passive pro
Protection that does not have moving parts. These include hexes, nuts and tricams.
Wire
A nut or hex
Crab
Biner, carabiner
Extender
Gear used for connecting the rope to a piece of pro or bolt. These include quickdraws, alpine draws, and runners.
Cam
Camming device. A spring loaded type of protection that is used to protect parallel sided cracks. The original cam was the Friend, and some veterans still call cams by this name.
In situ
Already in place. This is used to describe gear (often a peg or nut) that is left on a route.
Backup
An additional piece of gear used to create redundancy. Most often relied on in trad climbing
Rack
A climber’s personal collection of protection. It can also refer to the gear he or she racks up with for a given climb. In this case, the rack might be adapted to a route or area.
Bug
An ATC or other model of tubular belay device
Grigri
A popular auto-braking belay device made by Petzl
Personal anchor system (PAS)
An adjustable lanyard.
Lanyard
A piece of gear like a sling or personal anchor system that is used to connect the climber to the anchors while cleaning, preparing a rappel, or changing over on a multipitch stance.
CE
The CE stamp marks products that have been produced in accordance with the standards of the European Economic Community. These standards dictate the levels of safety and quality that manufacturers have to adhere to.
UIAA
This international climbing federation established the first safety standards for climbing gear (and are still slightly more stringent than CE standards). Most load-bearing gear (especially ropes and slings) are designed to hold up against the UIAA’s tests.
Other terms
Approach
The walk or hike to the climbing area
Beta
Information about a route given to you by another climber. This can also be acquired by watching a climbing work or send a route.
Beta bashing
Giving beta when it is not asked for. Also known as spraying
Drag
The friction that makes a rope difficult to pull through gear or bolts
Gumby
A novice climber. Someone who moves like the cartoon character
Gym rat
A climber who spends almost all of his time in the gym. Usually lacks real rock skills
Second
A climber who is belayed from above. Here the leader – now the belayer – essentially has the second on top-rope. Standard practice on multi-pitch climbs
Flapper
Loose piece of flapping skin torn away from your hand in a hard move.
Dab
To have your foot touch the floor during an attempt to send a boulder problem.
Barn door
To have an arm and leg swing sideways away from the rock. This occurs when you are off balance and usually results in lost purchase and a fall.
Z-clip
A clipping error in which the climber clips their rope through the quickdraws in a Z pattern. Happens when you pull slack up from below the last draw and then clip the next draw.
Take
To have the belayer take slack out of the rope and then put their weight on. To make the rope tight
Gripped
To be overcome by fear
Pumped
When lactic acid levels in your forearms results in an energy-sapping burn
Whipper
A fall. Usually happens when you are pumped or gripped
