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Some rock climbing terms will be familiar to anyone who has ever set foot on a crag – that’s a rock face, by the way. But when a veteran climber smiles at you at the end of a climb and exclaims: “Ah, I was totally gripped on that chossy traverse, and I had a flapper by the time I reached the crux. Luckily, I’d put in a few bombers, so I knew it’d be okay,” you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d set foot in a strange new country. And just when you thought you knew your gastons from your Gri-gris!
As with any pursuit, unique lingo has sprung up around climbing and stubbornly held on with all the character and defiance of an alpine plant clinging to a crag. Some rock climbing terms drift into the mainstream, helped along by media coverage, film productions and bestselling books. A term like 'choss', used to describe loose terrain, could easily be used by a walker lugging their hiking backpack up a scree slope.
However, some rock climbing terms remain firmly in the shadow of the crag, known only to those in climbing shoes rather than hiking shoes, or anyone else for that matter. No one in the office has showered praise on a colleague by calling them a wad; no one describes the way they hold their coffee cup as a guppy; and no one climbs a new staircase before boasting to their partner that they’d done an on-sight ascent.
Crag: a cliff or rock feature.
Gym: indoor climbing wall.
Lead: the person leading the climb.
Second: the person following the lead up.
Belayer: the person that manages the rope, protecting the climber against a fall.
Pitch: a part of a climb that is completed using one rope length.
Stance: a place where a climber stops at the end of a pitch to secure a belay.
Anchor: an arrangement of gear set up to support the weight of a belay or top rope.
Trad climbing: roped climbing where the leader places protection onto the crag as they climb, which is then often removed by the second on their way up.
Sport climbing: climbing that makes us of pre-installed protection, such as bolts in the rock.
Soloing: rock climbing without rope.
Deep water soloing: (often abbreviated to DWS) rock climbing without a rope above deep water.
Top rope: the kind of climbing often found at a gym or on an artificial wall. The climber is attached to one end of the rope, which is passed over an anchor at the top of the climb and back to down the belayer.
Bouldering: unroped climbing on usually technically challenging boulders that are low enough to fall from safely, often onto a mat.
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Highball bouldering: technically challenging boulder problems at a greater height than usual bouldering.
Scrambling: the grey area between hiking and rock climbing where hands are required but the terrain isn’t serious enough to warrant a climbing grade and hiking shoes or boots are usually worn. Climbers will often scramble to the start of a more technical climb in their approach shoes.
Winter climbing: ascents of steep snow slopes or mixed rock and ice that require the use of crampons and at least one ice axe.
Ice climbing: steep climbs on frozen ice, requiring crampons, two technical ice axes and usually ropes.
Single-pitch: a climb that is short enough to only warrant the use of one rope length.
Multi-pitch: a longer climb involving more than one rope length.
The style by which you ascend is as important as the technicality of the route for some. There are rock climbing terms for every style and approach.
On-sight: to complete a route cleanly at the first time of asking in one continual flow with no falls or resting.
Ground up: as it sounds, this involves climbing the crag from the ground all the way to the top in one go. If you take a fall, it can still count as a ground up ascent, as long as you return to the ground and start again.
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Beta: when you’ve received hints and tips about difficult moves or handy gear placements from climbers who have already done the route.
Headpoint: leading a technically challenging climb having rehearsed the moves previously using a top-rope.
Redpoint: climb a route with no rests having previously rehearsed the moves. Usually applies to sport climbing routes.
Flash: to complete a climb cleanly at the first time of asking, having receive beta or conducted research on the route.
Arête: a narrow ridge of rock.
Buttress: a large protruding face or area of a crag.
Gendarme: a pinnacle of rock on a mountain ridge.
Chimney: a crack or vertical fissure large enough for your whole body to enter.
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Slab: a rock face at a less than severe angle.
Chock: often referred to as a chockstone. A large rock or boulder wedged in a crack.
Corner: the inverse of an arête, an inside corner of rock.
Edge: a narrow ledge on the crag.
Flake: in terms of terrain, this is a slab of rock that’s detached from the main rock. face.
Flute: a fin or flake of rock, often insecure.
Horn: also known as a spike. A pointed protrusion of rock that makes for a good hold or anchor.
Off-width: a crack in the rock face that’s not quite the dimensions of any body part, often awkwardly wider than a fist but smaller than your body.
Overhang: a section of the crag angled beyond vertical.