Climbing
Belay, anchor, dyno, quickdraw, send — what do these all mean in the climbing world? Learn about these climbing terms and more in this article.
Understanding the language of rock climbing is not just a matter of impressing fellow climbers — it’s essential to know for safety and effective communication on the wall.
In this guide, you’ll learn common rock climbing jargon as we unravel the complexities of climbing terminology, from the essential gear to advanced techniques. Once you master these fundamental climbing terms, you’ll be ready for Sasha DiGiulian’s HBO sports documentary, “Here to Climb,” streaming on Max. Read ahead for a climbing glossary that will prepare you to join the ranks of climbers who navigate cliffs with precision and grace.
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Understanding essential rock climbing terms
To embark into the world of rock climbing, it’s essential to know what other climbers are talking about. You can get some initial exposure to climbing communication terms by watching different climbing videos. You’ll see how the climbing lexicon fits into an expert climber’s vocabulary, whether it’s from Red Bull Reel Rock, available to watch on Red Bull TV, or Sasha’s documentary, which follows her rise from child prodigy to champion sport climber.
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Anchor
An anchor is a device or method of attachment to the rock or other fixed objects to create a secure point for belaying or rappelling. This allows the climber or rope to be attached to the chosen climbing surface such as rock or dirt.
Arête
An arête is like the corner of a building but with natural rock. It’s formed from two intersecting rocks that create either a rounded or sharp “outside corner.”
Ascender
You don’t become the best without a little help, especially from gear. Ascenders are devices that move upward on a fixed rope and will catch when a climber’s weight is put on it. This helps climbers to move up and haul equipment with their rope easily.
Belay
Belay is climbing lingo that refers to the technique of controlling the rope to protect a climber in case of a fall. Understanding belaying, when someone is properly secured to the end of the rope, is necessary to ensure the climber’s and belayer’s safety. This provides you with a means of knowing when to catch falls and lowering climbers back to the ground.
Belay Device
More often than not, climbers use equipment to make their route attainable while being cautious. A belay device is a mechanical gadget to prevent climbers from falling thanks to the rope’s friction. It’s a tool climbers can use to safely push their limits while scaling new heights.
Beta
Climbers exchange beta (aka advice) as insider knowledge about routes. This includes suggested sequences, holds, and strategies for success to collaborate with other climbers and grow a bond over the same climb.
Bolt
To make the rope sturdy, climbers use bolts as a fixed anchor drilled into the rock. It features a metal hanger with a hole for attaching a carabiner or quickdraw, making it essential for sport and competition climbing. Bolts offer reliable protection, allowing climbers to focus on movement rather than placing gear.
Boulder
This type of ropeless climbing takes place on natural boulders, focusing on short but intense routes. While most boulders range from 10 to 25 feet tall, they can be much bigger. Climbers will boulder along the base of cliffs, and many indoor gyms also feature dedicated bouldering walls for training and technique. For those who feel intimidated by not wearing a harness, like many do when bouldering, those indoor routes will help prepare you for the rock formations.
Boulder problems
In bouldering vocabulary, boulder problems are intense climbing routes — like the kind Red Bull bouldering champion Natalia Grossman regularly conquers. They require climbers to tackle challenging moves in concentrated areas. “The Mandala” in California is one of the best-known boulder problems.
Cam
Cam, short for camming device, is a mechanical device used for creating temporary anchor points. Cams expand and grip the rock, providing reliable protection for climbers. Beginners should start with versatile camming unit sets so they have flexibility and coverage for different climbs, from crack climbing to traditional lead climbing.
Carabiner
Carabiners are metal loops with spring-loaded gates used to connect climbing equipment, including ropes or harnesses. This climbing term plays a vital role, as it’s used to attach the climber to the rope, anchor points, and various gear placements.
Chimney
Big enough for a climber to fit inside, a chimney is a wide, vertical crack between two rock faces. Chimneying, also called stemming, is the technique of climbing by pressing against opposite walls with hands, feet, back, and even elbows or knees. This style of climbing is physically demanding, requiring full-body engagement to navigate the ever-changing width of the chimney.
Crag
A crag may be a small climbing area, but it packs a punch with multiple routes to explore. It’s usually defined by a standout rock feature, like a buttress or cliff face, that gives it character. Despite its size, the variety of routes can make it feel expansive, offering plenty of challenges for climbers to tackle.
Crimp
Crimping is rock climbing slang that involves gripping small rock holds with your first pads on your fingers and applying pressure to small edges. It requires precise finger strength and control. Beginners should start by developing finger strength through exercises like hangboarding. You should then gradually practice crimping on smaller holds, focusing on proper hand positioning to avoid over-gripping.
Crossover
When climbers move sideways on the cliff, they’re performing a crossover. The simplest way to crossover is flagging, where you move one foot to a new area and then shift your body toward your new foot placement. When climbers can’t easily move straight up or down, they’ll crossover to either side and find a workaround.
Deadpoint
As a climber, you must expect the unpredictable. This will help give you control over dynamic motions. Deadpoint uses that dynamic control with one hand grabbing the peak of upward motion.
Dyno
Dyno, short for dynamic movement, is a climbing technique where the climber launches from one hold to another, requiring extensive coordination and precise timing. Beginners can practice dynos by identifying target holds and focusing on generating upward momentum, gradually increasing distance as they gain confidence in their accuracy.
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Edging
No matter the mountain you choose, you’ll cross paths with small ledges that require precise footwork. Edging involves climbers standing on those small ledges with the edge of their shoe instead of the soles of the shoe. Small edges, also called crystals, can be difficult to navigate, but extra practice can give you the confidence of a pro.
Face Climbing
Face climbing doesn’t actually involve using your face as a tool. It requires slopers, knobs, edges, tufas, and other equipment to climb vertically. It’s the opposite of offwidth climbing where enthusiasts just use their hands. Face climbing gives you a one-up with the help of gear to conquer any slab.
Figure Eight Knot
In climbing vocabulary, the figure eight knot is a must-know knot that’s as reliable as it is simple. It’s the go-to choice for securing a climber’s harness to the rope, creating a strong and easy-to-check loop. With its distinct shape — resembling the number eight — it’s not just practical but also a lifesaver, keeping climbers tied in on gravity-defying adventures. To tie a figure eight knot, start by making a loop in the rope and twist it once to form an “8.” You’ll then thread the end through your harness and retrace the original shape, pulling it tight for a secure hold.
Flagging
Climbers constantly juggle the dance between supporting their weight and keeping their balance. That’s where flagging comes in — a technique where climbers use one leg to stay steady. In a standard flag, the foot extends on the same side as the reaching hand. But when things get trickier, climbers use reverse flags. Reverse inside flagging happens when the flagged foot crosses in front of the other, while reverse outside flagging means the foot crosses behind.
Flash
Similar to onsight, flash means a climber completed their route on their first try. However, flash involves climbers using prior knowledge, whether they watched another climber tackle that route or were offered valuable beta ahead of time.
Free Climbing
As a climber, you must be quick and adaptable. Free climbing is just that. Climbers don’t use any equipment to perform free climbing. They don’t pull or step on slings or other gear, instead simply using their hands, feet, knees, and other body parts. They can have ropes or harnesses to protect themselves from falls, but never to ascend.
Gear Loop
Besides knowing climbing techniques, having the proper equipment can be just as important. You’ll typically find four gear loops on harnesses, so you can carry enough equipment to cover all of the essentials.
Hand Jam
Jamming involves climbers wedging their body into a crack, and this variation involves the same move, but performed only with your hand.
Harness
Climbing harnesses are a piece of equipment worn by the climber to secure themself to the rope. It distributes the force of a fall across the climber’s body and allows for comfortable hanging during rest periods or belaying.
Heel Hook
Heel hooks involve applying your heel to any edge or foothold on the mountain, gaining balance and maneuvering into a better position. It’s a common technique used by climbers to gain leverage over the rock.
Highball
For the extreme climbers, a highball is the boulder to beat. It’s a dangerous boulder problem that’s more than five to 10 meters high, creating a nice adrenaline rush for anyone who wants to conquer this boulder.
Jug
Rock climbing is an extreme sport, so any extra support is appreciated. A jug is a large hold that’s easy to grip. Some climbers also call jugs “buckets.”
Lead Climbing
Remember follow the leader back in school? Well, you’ll apply that technique to rock climbing. Climbers will follow the “lead climber” as the leader places climbing protection and ascends the pitch of the route. It’s also used to help label who the lead climber is and who is belaying.
Lock Off
This static move involves climbers pulling on a hold until your arm is bent. Then you’ll slowly transition, using your body tension to reach the next rock hold with an open hand. This move doesn’t use the same explosive power of other moves because it allows climbers to steadily gain control over their bodies.
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Mantle
Climbers are constantly pulling and pushing off the terrain, moving toward their desired destination. A mantle is the term used to describe the motion where you change from pulling to pushing during your climb.
Multi-Pitch
Multi-pitch climbing involves ascending routes that are too long to be completed in a single rope length, requiring climbers to stop and belay at anchor points. “The Nose” in Yosemite National Park is a multi-pitch climb that towers to nearly 3,000 feet to offer 31 different pitches.
Nut
Nuts, also known as chocks, are passive protection devices inserted into the rock’s constrictions and cracks and attached to your anchor for increased stability. Nuts rely on friction between the metal and the rock to hold the climber’s weight and are essential for multi-pitch climbing.
Offwidth
Also called crack climb, offwidth refers to a route that follows a crack in the rock. A climber will determine their technique based on the size of the offwidth crack. Finger cracks are the narrowest offwidth since only your fingers can fit, while a chimney crack can fit a climber’s entire body.
Onsight
When a newbie climbs without resting on their gear or falling, they’re performing an onsight. Unlike a flash, an onsight is done with zero prior knowledge of a route — which is pretty impressive if you can manage this as a newbie.
Overhang
Natural rock can form in many different ways, so climbers need language that tells them exactly the type of layout they’re getting ready to tackle. Overhangs form when the rock is angled beyond the vertical, meaning the surface is leaning backward over 90 degrees. Overhangs are the most challenging type of formation to climb because it’s like ascending an upside-down roof.
Pinch
Also known as a pinch hold, climbers perform this by “pinching” the rock with their fingers. This requires climbers to constantly do finger exercises to be prepared for cliffs with very little surface available to grab.
Pump
Climbers experience pump as muscle fatigue during sustained climbing journeys. This means managing your pump is essential for maintaining endurance and performance during each rock climb. Pump signifies physical and mental challenges when pushing your limits during each climb.
Protection (Pro)
Climbers may need an assist from equipment to tackle intense mountains. One piece of equipment is called protection which is a device that’s placed into the rock to secure the rope, preventing falls from great heights.
Quickdraw
Quickdraws are climbing equipment consisting of two carabiners connected by a stitched nylon or polyethylene Dyneema sling. Quickdraws attach the rope to bolts or other protection points on the route. For beginners, invest in a set of lightweight and easy-to-handle quickdraws with keylock gate mechanisms. (That’s a safety design function that keeps your carabiner from catching on your harness gear loop.)
Rappel
Rappelling is something done independently without a belayer or help from another climber. Climbers descend the cliff while controlling their speed with a fixed rope and their feet against the wall to rappel. But they can get help from either a belay device or a rappel device to assist with the descent.
Rope diameter
Rope diameter refers to the thickness of the rope, affecting the rope’s strength and weight. Thicker ropes offer durability and abrasion resistance, while thinner ropes are lighter and flexible, ideal for longer routes. Beginners should start with standard diameter ropes (typically 9.8mm to 10.2mm). They’ll provide balance and durability for climbs, including top-roping, sport climbing, and traditional climbing.
Rope Drag
Prepared climbers always have a rope to protect them from falls. Rope drag is the friction weighing the rope down through the rock and gear.
Route
Routes are the specific climbing paths that one takes from start to finish.
Scree
Every natural rock formation is different. There are no two that are identical, but some can be similar. Any terrain that has small, loose rocks located at the base is known as scree. Since it’s loose, climbers need to be cautious they don’t put all their pressure on a scree. But with screes at the base of a cliff, climbers may be able to easily reach sturdy rock formations above it.
Send
When climbers “send” a route, it means they completed it without falling. There’s no greater moment of celebration than sending a route for the first time.
Slab
Slabs are a type of rock. Any low-angle rock that’s less vertical than others is considered a slab. Climbers use the slab climbing technique where they need precise balance, strong footwork, and typically smear across the rock.
Smearing
Smearing is traditional climbing jargon when climbers apply pressure with the sole of their shoe against the rock, gaining traction with little or no footholes. Beginners can start by focusing on maintaining body balance and trusting their feet on the rock, gradually increasing confidence in friction for upward progress.
Sport routes
Sports routes refer to climbing routes with fixed bolts for protection, allowing climbers to ascend longer. They require endurance, technique, and route-finding skills while relying on quickdraws. “Silence” in Norway, is a sport route famous for being one of the hardest climbs in the world.
Spotter
When climbers go bouldering, they’ll need a spotter. Spotters stand under the climber to watch and if a fall happens, they’ll break the impact. It’s not meant for those who want to go high up because it’s for short, light climbs. If you take a fall, your spotter can move bouldering mats quickly beneath you before you hit the ground.
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Toe Hook
As a climber, you’ll constantly be using your toes to move you up and down on the rock. When toe hooking, climbers wrap their toes under a hold to pull themselves toward the slab. It’s typically used on overhangs, so practice your toe gripping before your next adventure.
Toprope
It wouldn’t be rock climbing without the use of a rope. Toprope is when climbers have their rope secured from above. A version of the typical toprope is a slingshot toprope, where the rope is secured from the overhead anchors down to the belayer on the ground.
Traverse
No one said rock climbing would be straightforward. As a climber, you’ll need to move horizontally across rough terrain — that’s known as traversing. Any type of horizontal climbing is traversing, as it ranges from low angles and intense terrain to slabs that are easily grabable. This is a move you’ll perform without even thinking about it.
Undercling
When a climber applies counter-pressure to the underside of the slab or rock and pulls on it while their feet push down, they’re underclinging. With an undercling, climbers use the palm of their hand to hold on. This is a technique you’ll most likely use each time you find yourself on a rock climb. It’s unpredictable out there and you’ll never know how difficult a rock is until you’re ascending.
Whipper
Whipper is when a climber takes a significant fall, often resulting in a downward arc motion mid-air. If you experience this in the beginning, don’t worry — it’s a right of passage you’ll probably bond with other climbers about at some point.
Embrace the language of adventure
In mastering rock climbing terms, you’ve unlocked the gateway to adventure, from understanding gear to executing advanced techniques. So tie in, chalk up, and let the vertical world become the next playground because climbing isn’t just a sport. It’s a journey of discovery and exhilaration waiting for climbers to seize it.