Aid Climbing- Climbing in which the climber uses his/her gear to ascend the route.
Aider- A ladder made out of webbing. Used for aid climbing. See "Etrier".
Aid Route- an entire route is climbed using aid
Alcove- a ramp or outcropping which is suuronded by rock
AMS- Acute Mountain Sickness, low blood levels of oxygen at high altitude.
Anchor- Points where the rope is fixed to the rock on protection.
Arete- Sharp ridge of rock or snow.
ATC- a belay\rappel device that will accept two ropes.
Ascender- device which has a cam that clamps down on a rope when downward pressure is applied to it, but is allowed to move up a rope. Used to jug routes.
Ball-Nuts- Type of protection that a sliding ball on a ramp to provide holding power.
Base camp- The home camp at the foot of a major climb, usually permanent.
Bat Hook- A sky hook with a filed sharp point for placement in drilled holes.
Belay - Using a belay device to keep the climber safe on the rope.
Belayer - The person keeping the climber safe on the rope.
Belay Device- A device that can provide enough friction to stop the rope from sliding through it. Used for belaying and sometimes rappeling.
Belay On- Said by belayer to let the climber know that it is safe to climb.
Belay Station- The anchor which a belayer belays from.
"Below!"- the British version of "ROCK!" Warns climbers below of a falling object.
Beta- Information on a route and or climbing area.
Betaflash- a clean accent with no falls but will the proper beta.
Big wall- A climb which will take several days, climbing on a Big Wall.
Biner- Slang for carabiner.
Bird Beak- Thin hook used to protect thin cracks.
Bivouac (Bivy) - Where you spend the night, may be forced due to weather.
Bolt- A fixed piece of protection which is placed into a drilled hole.
Bombproof - Also known as bomber. Very secure, normally refers to protection.
Bong- A very old very fat piton, it is also a water cooled THC delevery system.
Bootie- Gear which is found, free stuff. Can not always be trusted for climbing.
Bouldering - Climbing on boulders, use of ropes is not necesarry.
Bouldering Problem - What the route is called on a boulder.
Bouldering Pad - See "crash pad".
Bounce- What happens if one hits the deck from a substantial height.
Bounce test- To bounce on a piece of protection to make sure it will hold.
Buttress- A part of the rock that stands away from the main formation.
Campus- A dyno using arms only, extremly difficult.
Campus board- A board which is used to increase arm and finger strength.
Carabiner- If you need to look this up I feel sorry for you. What a climber clips the rope into, made of metal with an opening "gate".
Chalk- Used to soak up and eliminate sweat on the hands, improves grip.
Chausey- Rotten rock conditions.
Chest harness- It is what it sounds like, worn simultaneously with a regular harness.
Chimney- A very wide crack which an entire person may fit into.
Chimney, to- To climb a chimney, usually done by wedgeing oneself into the crack.
Chipping- What crappy climbers do if they suck at climbing, artifical creation of a hold.
Chock- Generic name for hexs, nuts, stoppers etc.
Chockstone- A rock wedged in a crack as a piece of protection.
Copper head- Piece of metal on a thin wire that can be placed in a small crack and forced into a proper fit. Made out of malleable metals.
Chute- An extremely steep gully.
Class- Difficulty level (1-6)......Class 5 free climbing, Class 6 Aid climbing etc.........
Clean- To take the protection out of the rock, also to ascend without mistake.
Climbing- A phrase yelled when the climber begins to ascend. What climbers do.
Clip, to- Placing the rope into the carabiner.
Clove Hitch- A climbing knot, simple, versitile and fast.
Cord- Static line up to 6mm thick.
Corner- A corner on a rock face, see Dihedral.
Crack- A crack in the rock.
Crag- Climbing area.
Crash Pad- a mat used by boulderers to reduce the impact of the landing
Crest- Top of a ridge or arete.
Crimper- Extremly small climbing holds, crimpers usually won't take more than then tips of your fingers and some will even take only a few fingers.
Cross Loading- Very bad. What happens when a biner is holding weight on its minor axis instead of the major axis.
Crux- The hardest move or set of moves on a route.
Cruxy- The route has several hard sections.
Deadpoint- The point of a dyno when there is no longer upward movement.
Deck- The thing all climbers want to stay away from, THE GROUND
Descender- What is used for a controlled decent of a rope.
Dihedrial- An inside corner in the rock
Double Back- Feed the rope or harness webbing back through a buckle or second loop.
Double Rope- The use of two thin ropes instead of 1 wider rope.
Down Climbing- This is a tuffy to explain but here goes...........climbing down.
Draw- Short of quickdraw. Used to clip the rope into a peice of protection.
Dyno- A lunge to a hold above you. Done often in bouldering.
Etriers- A ladder made out of webbing used to make progress up an aid route.
Exposure- Being very high above your pro or being very high off the deck.
Fall Factor- The legnth of the fall divided by the amount of rope paid out.
Fifi Hook- Used by aid climbers to hook into a daisy chain or pro.
Finger Jam- jaming your fingers into a crack and making them bigger so they will not pull out. There are many types of finger jams.
First Accent- The first time a route is climbed by people.
Fist Jam- jaming your fist into a crack and making it bigger so that it will not pull out.
Fixed Protection- Protection that is left in the rock for future use by others.
Fixed Rope- Like fixed protection, but with a rope. Rope is left for others to use.
Flake- A flake that sticks out from the rock. To lay the rope out on the ground.
Flash- To complete a climb with no falls on the first try.
Free Climbing- Climbing without aid. Rope and gear is used for proctection not to aid in the climbers progress up a route.
Free Solo- To climb with no protection at all. A very serious climb, not for newbies.
Greenpoint- To flash a top rope route.
Grigri- Name of a popular auto-locking belay device. Used by sport climbers a lot.
Gumby-Novice Climber. (2) A freaky green amigo
HAPE- High Altitude Pulmonary Edema. Fluid builds up in lungs, climber must return to lower altitude or death is likely.
Hand Jam- Jaming your hand into a crack and making it bigger so it will not pull out.
Hang Dog- To rest on the rope a lot while climbing.
Hanging Belay- A belay station on a vertical face in which the belayer hangs.
Harness- Rather important when climbing. Keeps you on the rope and alive.
Haul Bag- Used on long multi-day routes. Gear is stored in it and then hauled up after every pitch. Very few straps to avoid snagging and very durable.
Heel Hook- Climbing technique, you hook a hold with your heel and pull down.
Helmet- Protects your head from falling objects.
Hexcentric (Hex)- hexagonal shaped chock that when placed properly will create a camming motion and hold. Can also be placed in a stopper (nut) position.
Hueco- "Pockets" in the rock.
Hypoxia- Lack of oxygen to the brain, body begins to debilitate.
Ice Screw- Ice protection that is screwed into the ice.
Jummar- Genarical term used for an accender. Also to accend a route by jummaring.
Jamming- To place a body part in a crack and make it larger so it will not pull out.
Krab- Slang for carabiner.
Leader- Refers to the person that is lead climbing.
Locking Carabiner- A biner that has a locking gate. Used to belay and at crucial points.
Lost Arrows- A type of very thin piton.
Lower- To come down off a route at the top or when you can not climb any more.
Match- To place your feet or hands on the same hold.
Mixed Climbing- Refers to route with ice and rock climbing in same pitch.
Monodoigt- Pocket that will only allow one finger.
Multi-pitch- A route with multiple pitch where the leader must stop at the end of the rope and set up a belay station so the second can climb up to continue climbing.
Nuts- Also known as stoppers or chocks. A metal block that is contricted toward one end to allow placement in bottleneck cracks.
Off Width- Crack that is to thin to chimney up but to wide to use jamming techniques.
Onsight- A climb with no falls and no prior knowledge of the route.
Pendulum- To swing on the end of the rope in an arch. Lots of fun.
Pink Point- A climb with no falls when the gear is pre-placed.
Pitch- Generally a rope legnth. Belay stations must be set on multi-pitch routes.
Piton- Spike of metal that is pounded into cracks, often used for aid today.
Portaledge- A collapsable ledge that is used on multi-day climb when the party of climbers must bivouac on the wall.
Protection- Also known as Pro. Placed in the rock to protect the leader if they fall.
Prusik- A knot that acts much like a accender does.
Redpoint- A climb with no falls, while placing pro when climbing.
Runner- A sewn piece of webbing that act like longer quickdraws.
Runout- A climb that has very sparse protection that is few and far between.
Slab- A rock face that is not vertical nor overhanging.
SLCD- spring loaded camming device, active protection which uses springs reach the camming position
Sling- Another name for a "Runner".
Sloper- A hold that slopes downward.
Smear- Pushing down on the rock with your shoe like you are trying to smear something from the bottom of your shoe onto the rock.
Solo- Climbing alone. Not always without pro. You can use specail devices that arrest a fall much like a belayer would.
Sport Climbing- Protection is bolted, which allows for some very hard routes.
Steming- Pushing outward on two sides. Like trying to climb a thin hall in your house.
Topo- A map of routes names and features about the rock and the route.
Traditional Climbing- Also known as trad climbing. Protection must be placed as the leader climbs. All protection can be removed from the rock. Zero Impact.
Zipline- a zippy line, ha ha ha, i'm done now
Zipper- Protection that is pulled out up an outward pull that is produced in a fall.
Zipper Clipper- What Matt and I call the multi-directional piece or pieces of pro that make up our first placement. Mulit-directional protection will keep your protection from the dreaded zippering effect.
