ablation zone The region of a glacier below the firn line that experiences annual net loss of snow and ice by melting, sublimation, and calving.
abseil Same as rappel: descending by sliding down a rope under control of friction.
accumulation zone The area of a glacier above the firn line, that retains more annual snow than it loses to melting and sublimation.
aid climbing Ascending using fixed or removable anchors to support the climber’s weight.
alpha angle The angle, measured from horizontal, from where you are to the likely start zone of naturally triggered avalanches on slopes above.
alpine The terrain above tree line.
alpine climbing Rock and ice climbing that requires mountaineering skills.
alpine start Beginning a day of mountaineering at a very early hour.
AMS Acute Mountain Sickness. Headache, nausea, insomnia, and other symptoms caused by hyperbaric hypoxia (low pressure, low oxygen).
anabatic A wind that moves up a slope; compare katabatic.
angle of repose The steepest slope angle (measured from horizontal) at which irregular materials can be piled. For sand, scree, and small talus it is about 35°.
arête A narrow, often very narrow, ridge.
ascender A mechanical device used to hold or climb a rope; a rope grab.
autoblock A friction knot that tightens automatically but can be made to slip while under tension, commonly used to back up a rappeler’s grip on the rope; aka French prusik. A property of a belay brake that causes the rope to a climber below to jam and hold the climber’s fall; not intended to hold hard or leader falls or to be used hands-free.
autolock A property of a belay brake that causes the rope to another climber to become locked and hold the climber’s fall; intended to hold leader falls and to be used hands-free by some.
avalanche A mass of snow, mud, rocks, scree, or talus sliding down a mountain, with snow being the most common.
B-52 Trade name for a belay/rappel brake with autoblock functions.
bail To give up on a climb.
bearing The angle between the direction to an object and a reference direction that is typically geographic north.
belay To make secure by use of a rope.
bergschrund (Or simply ’schrund.) A crevasse formed where the moving ice of a glacier pulls away from a permanent snowfield higher up.
beta Information, usually regarding a climb or route.
big wall A long, steep rock climb that may require several days.
bight A section of rope that curves back on itself.
biner Short for carabiner, or karabiner.
bivy Short for bivouac: an impromptu, primitive encampment during a climb.
black ice Old, dense ice containing rock and grit, often found deep in north-facing gullies.
bollard A rounded object used for securing a rope, dug out of snow or ice for use as an anchor, or part of a strength-testing machine.
bolt A permanent anchor made by drilling a hole in the stone and placing an expansion screw and hanger.
bomber Same as bomb proof: a hold or anchor (or just about anything else) that inspires great confidence in its strength and security.
bootie Found hardware, lost or left by a previous party.
bouldering A style of climbing that forgoes belays, usually involving exceptionally difficult moves on routes close to the deck.
bounce test Putting one’s weight, and as much extra force as possible by jumping around, on an anchor in order to test its security.
cairn A form of mountain graffiti made by piling rocks, used to mark a route; aka duck.
cam Generic term for active (spring-loaded) mechanical camming devices, such as Friends, Camalots, Aliens, etc., used for anchors in rock.
carabiner A snap link of various kinds, with many uses; also “karabiner.”
chock A category of passive devices used as anchors when wedged into openings in rock; also called rocks, nuts, stoppers, and wires or wireds.
chockstone A stone firmly wedged in an opening in the rock.
choss Loose, broken, or exceptionally weak rock; aka kitty litter. To a Brit, choss means dirt and vegetation in cracks.
chute A steep, narrow gully, used by mountains to dump their garbage.
cirque A steep-sided basin forming the high end of a mountain valley.
clean To remove a climbing route’s anchors. Climbing without falling or pulling on anchors. Climbing using removable anchors only.
clinometer An instrument for measuring the angle of a slope, often built into compasses and sometimes incorrectly referred to as an “inclinometer.”
continental A location far from the effects of the sea; describes weather, climate, and snowpack.
contour line A line of constant elevation on a topographic map.
cordelette A long, versatile runner loop made of about 20 feet of 6 or 7 mm accessory cord or of 5 mm high-tenacity cord.
cornice Wind-sculpted snow projecting beyond the crest of a ridge on its lee side.
couloir A steep chute or gulley on a mountain, typically containing ice or snow.
crab Or krab, short for carabiner—which should be “karabiner.”
crag A small, easily accessible rock-climbing area.
crampon One of a pair of metal attachments for boots that feature spikes for traction on snow and ice.
crater The ground terminus of a serious fall; aka splat.
crevasse A chasm in the ice of a glacier.
crimper A small hold that barely admits fingertips.
cross loading Applying loads to a carabiner other than along its long axis, the strongest direction and the one for which it was designed.
crux The most challenging section of a climb.
daisy chain A runner sewn or tied to create a number of pockets along its length, allowing length adjustment.
deadman An object buried in snow to serve as an anchor.
deck The ground or a substantial ledge. Falling to the ground or onto a ledge.
denier The weight in grams of a single fiber that is about 5.6 miles (exactly 9 km) long; pronounced dun-yay’ (sort of) and abbreviated d, used to express fabric weight.
diaper harness An improvised harness made with a long runner, suitable only for short periods on easy terrain.
directional An anchor or runner whose primary purpose is to control the direction of applied force.
downclimb Descending a route without weighting a rope and often without protection.
drag bag A large, robust sack intended for hauling equipment and provisions over snow-covered terrain by masochists.
dry tooling Using ice tools (axes) and possibly crampons on rock when climbing.
dynamic belay A belay of the leader that allows some rope to slip in the event of a fall, absorbing energy and reducing peak forces.
dynamic rope A climbing rope having energy-absorbing and force-limiting properties such that it’s suitable for lead climbing.
Elvis When a climber’s legs are so tired or stressed that they shake uncontrollably; aka sewing machine legs.
epic A climbing adventure that goes badly, requiring extraordinary effort to complete or survive.
equalization The property of a complex anchor that balances the applied force among its component placements.
escape the belay Actions by which the belayer disengages from the belay setup while keeping the climber safely belayed, usually as the start of a self-rescue process.
European Death Knot EDK; a name given by sardonic American climbers to the simple “flat overhand” knot used to join rappel ropes.
exposure The character of terrain that makes climbers especially fearful of a lengthy fall.
extension Movement of the master point of a complex anchor in the event of failure of a component placement.
FA A guidebook term indicating the first ascent of a route. FFA means first free (without using aid) ascent.
fall factor A coarse index of the severity of a fall equal to the length of the fall divided by the length of rope available to absorb fall energy; fall force is proportional to the square root of the fall factor.
fall line The most direct, not necessarily straightest, line down a slope; it is the line down which a ball would roll and it crosses contour lines perpendicularly.
fifi hook A small metal hook shaped like a question mark and intended to hold body weight but not fall force.
firn Well-consolidated granular snow and ice remaining from previous seasons; intermediate in density between snow and ice; aka névé.
fixed line A rope, usually static, left attached to anchors for an extended period.
fixed pro Protection anchors that are not readily removable, due to accident or intention.
flake A relatively thin, flat feature detached from the main rock face. The act of untangling a rope while arranging it in a pile.
fluke A snow anchor, usually with attached cable, made from slightly bent aluminum sheet metal.
follow To climb after the leader, typically while being belayed from above; same as “second.”
free climb Moving up a climbing route without putting weight on anchors, using only hands, feet, and natural holds for progression.
free solo Climbing without a safety rope when one would typically be used.
French free Climbing by pulling on anchors, irrespective of who placed them.
French technique A style of climbing moderate snow or ice emphasizing adroit ankle flexibility and eschewing the use of crampon front points.
Friend The trade name of the first common spring-loaded camming device (active cam), used as a generic term for them and successors.
funkness A cable runner intended to be clipped to a piton and hammer to help jerk the piton out of its placement, i.e., to funk it.
gardening Removing organic material and loose rock to improve a climbing route; cleaning up a climbing route in general.
gendarme A sharp pinnacle of rock on a ridge that typically impedes climbing along the ridge.
Gi-Gi A simple plate belay/rappel brake with autoblock functions.
glacial flour Rock dust ground by moving glaciers that makes streams cloudy and alpine lakes appear opaque pale blue.
glacial ice Ice formed from the continuing transformation of névé to the point it is impermeable to water, condensed further by the weight of snow and ice atop it so that its density approaches that of solid ice.
glissade Descending snow by controlled sliding on feet or derrière.
GPS Global Positioning System; a satellite-based navigation system accessed by consumers using portable receivers.
GriGri A mechanical, auto-locking belay brake, unsuited for mountaineering because of its weight and lack of rope slippage.
gripped Incapacitated by fear.
HACE High Altitude Cerebral Edema; swelling of the brain due to edema caused by hyperbaric hypoxia (low pressure, low oxygen).
hang dogging Hanging on the rope while resting and trying to figure out the climbing moves that have defeated you thus far.
hanging belay A belay that requires the belayer to hang in a climbing harness without significant support from the feet.
HAPE High Altitude Pulmonary Edema; fluid accumulation in the lungs due to hyperbaric hypoxia.
haul bag A robust sack intended for dragging equipment and provisions up big wall climbs; aka the pig.
headwall Terrain where the grade steepens dramatically.
hex Generic term for a type of pro having an irregular, hexagonal cross section, used as a chock and in passive camming modes.
HMS Halbmastwurf sicherung—German meaning half clove hitch; another name for the Münter hitch, or a large pear-shaped carabiner with which it goes well.
horn A large, sturdy protrusion of rock.
hueco A substantial hole or pocket in a rock face that may surround solid rock, around which a runner can be placed by passing it through the hole.
hypoxia Unusually low or deficient oxygen reaching tissues of the body.
icefall A section of a glacier where a steep slope cracks the ice into large blocks, called seracs.
intermountain A location between maritime and continental, sometimes having maritime characteristics west of mountain crests and continental characteristics to the east; describes weather, climate, and snowpack.
jug A substantial and easily grasped climbing hold. Ascending a rope using mechanical ascenders, such as a Jumar and so also “jumaring.”
katabatic A mountain wind that flows downslope due to cooling, usually at night.
kernmantle Rope or cord construction with a woven exterior and braided interior.
kilonewton A unit of force equal to about 225 lbf (pound force), abbreviated kN, meaning 1,000 newtons; gravity causes a kilogram (2.2 pound) mass to press down with a force of about 10 newtons.
Kiwi coil An obsolete and suboptimal means for a glacier-travel team member to tie in to the rope and coil the excess.
lead To be the first climber, typically the one charged with routefinding and placing protection anchors if a rope is used; leading takes place on the sharp end of the rope.
lithobrake Impacting rock as a means of reducing the velocity of a fall.
locker A carabiner having a means to lock its gate closed.
mantle A rock climbing technique for moving up onto a ledge mainly using downward pressure of one’s hands on the ledge.
maritime A location close to the sea and subject to its effects; describes weather, climate, and snowpack.
master point The point at which the component placements of a complex anchor come together and to which the load is connected, usually at a large locking carabiner.
mitochondria Structures in cells that are responsible for energy production.
mixed climbing Climbing that involves ice, maybe snow, and rock.
moat A gap between a snowfield and adjacent rock.
moraine Rock, gravel, sand, and mud deposited by a glacier.
Münter hitch A simple, slipping hitch used to create friction on a rope for belaying, rappelling, or lowering.
névé Well-consolidated granular snow and ice remaining from previous seasons, intermediate in density between snow and solid ice; aka firn.
new-school An approach to learning and practice based on objective evaluations rather than historic precedent and tending to be eager for advancement.
off width A crack having a width that’s inconvenient for typical climbing methods and that’s therefore unusually awkward and strenuous; it can be off hands, off feet, off body, etc.
old-school An approach to learning and practice for which tradition outweighs objective evaluation.
orienteering A sport in which competitors race from one checkpoint to the next using a map, compass, and navigation skills.
picket An aluminum stake, typically with a T-shaped cross section, driven or buried in snow as an anchor.
piolet canne Climbing snow or ice using the mountaineering ax (piolet) as an aid to balance, like a cane.
piolet panne Climbing snow or ice using the mountaineering ax (piolet) by holding it with one’s hand atop the head and plunging in the pick at about waist height; aka low dagger.
piolet poignard Climbing snow or ice using the mountaineering ax (piolet) by holding it with one’s hand wrapped around the head and plunging in the pick at about head height; aka high dagger.
piolet traction Climbing snow or ice with a mountaineering ax (piolet) by sinking the pick of the ax and holding or pulling on the ax shaft.
pitch A portion of a climb between two successive belay anchors, or the conceptual equivalent.
placement An anchor in rock, snow, or ice or a component anchor of a complex anchor.
posthole Hiking in snow so soft that one’s legs sink deeply with each step.
pro Protection hardware; a variety of permanent or temporary means to achieve climbing anchors in rock, snow, or ice.
prusik The original friction knot: a knot used to connect a smaller diameter cord to a rope, allowing the knot to hold or slip along the rope. A runner (loop) of small diameter cord used to create a prusik knot or any other friction knot. To ascend a rope using friction knots on prusik loops.
quickdraw Or simply “draw”; two carabiners joined by a relatively short runner, so called because they were originally intended to be pre-attached to the rope to make them quick to clip to anchors.
rack The compliment of equipment, including pro, once carried on a shoulder gear sling, now also carried on harness gear loops. To attach hardware and sort the rack prior to climbing.
randonée A form of skiing using a binding that allows the boot heel to rise when ascending or to be locked down for conventional alpine skiing; French for “can’t telemark.”
rappel Or just “rap”; to descend with one’s weight supported mainly by the rope under control of a brake device; most of the world refers to this as abseil or to “ab off.”
redirect A carabiner or pulley whose purpose is to change the direction of the dress of a rope or runner and thereby the direction of force.
redpoint Leading a route from bottom to top without falling or hang dogging while placing one’s own protection.
resection A technique for determining one’s location by taking compass bearings and plotting them on a map; aka triangulation.
rime A thin crust of icy snow deposited by storms on the windward side of objects.
runner A circle of webbing or cord used, for example, to create or extend an anchor; same as “sling.”
running belay Either an anchor through which the rope runs freely or a style of climbing in which only the beginning and end of a pitch are protected with belay anchors, and the climbing party moves simultaneously using intermediate anchors (simul-climbing). Not used in this book because of this confusion.
runout A portion of a pitch characterized by an uncomfortably long distance from the last anchor or secure stance.
sandbag A climb rating inappropriately low for the actual difficulty.
SAR Search and rescue; a specific or generic organization with the training and resources to conduct search and rescue operations.
scum To use body parts other than hands and feet while making a difficult climbing move; considered aesthetically poor form.
screamer A long fall, accumulating impressive air time.
Screamer The original load-limiting runner, which allows stitching to rip and limit the applied force while absorbing some fall energy.
scree Rock fragments forming a slope, sometimes defined as being composed of stones too small to be individually stepped on by a climber.
screwgate A carabiner whose gate can be locked shut; same as “locker.”
second A person who climbs behind the leader and is belayed from above as on a top rope; same as follower.
self-arrest Stopping a slide on snow by a climber’s individual efforts.
send To climb a route with ease.
serac A block of ice in a glacial icefall.
sew up To place a copious amount of pro on a trad route.
simul-climbing Roped climbing in which the party and rope move simultaneously; the party sets and removes intermediate anchors while moving several rope lengths and only sets belay anchors at the beginning and end of the extra-long pitch.
solo Climbing a route alone.
spindrift Loose powdery snow often blown by the wind or sluffing off steep terrain during storms.
sport climb A route, usually of one pitch, protected by bolts and on which the holds are often indicated by gymnastic chalk residue.
static belay A belay of the leader allowing no rope slip and consequent energy absorption in the event of a fall.
static equalization The attribute of a complex anchor making for minimal extension, but also resulting in imbalance if the direction of applied force is other than that intended.
static rope A rope with less energy-absorbing stretch than a “dynamic” rope and which therefore cannot safely be used for lead climbing where the fall factor could exceed 1.
steinpuller A hold created by a climber on mixed terrain by inserting the pick of an ice tool into what would be an undercling for a rock climber, then pulling outward on the tool’s shaft.
sun cup One of many depressions covering a snowfield, from an inch to several feet deep and wide, that form in fair sunny weather and which may be destroyed by windy, warm, wet, and cloudy weather only to reform when the weather again becomes sunny and dry.
talus Rock fragments forming a slope, sometimes defined as being composed of stones large enough to be individually stepped on by a climber.
team arrest An attempt to stop the fall of a member or members who cannot self-arrest by a party that is roped together on snow.
telemark A form of skiing based on a binding that allows the boot sole to flex and its heel to rise and so requiring a kneeling turn with the outside ski ahead of the other; French for “face plant.”
terrain trap A terrain feature (such as a narrowing gully) that concentrates avalanching material, encourages avalanching material to pile up, or forms barriers (such as a stand of trees) to persons being carried along by avalanching material.
Tibloc Trade name for a rope grab with no moving parts but using a carabiner to achieve the slide/lock functions of a minimalist ascender.
top rope Climbing in which climbers are protected by a rope from above that is usually passed through a single anchor point and back to a belayer at the ground (a “slingshot belay”).
topo A topographic map, such as those of the USGS, showing elevation by contour lines. A sketch of a climbing route indicating identifying features and the locations of fixed anchors and belay stances, as well as the style and rating of each pitch.
trad Traditional lead climbing, where the leader places removable intermediate anchors while being belayed from below and the second removes them while being belayed from above.
traverse A portion of a climb that’s relatively horizontal.
tri-axial loading Loads connected to a carabiner from three directions, reducing the strength of the carabiner.
Ultralegere Trade name for a minimalist pulley, in fact, just a pulley wheel intended to be used with a symmetrical carabiner.
UTM Universal Transverse Mercator; a map projection that overlays small regions of the earth’s surface with rectangular metric grids that nearly, but not exactly, align with lines of latitude and longitude and used to simplify navigation within such small regions.
verglas A thin, transparent layer of ice over rock, formed by frozen rain or melt water.
via ferrata A climbing route consisting of iron rungs permanently attached to mountain faces; protection is by an adjacent, periodically anchored steel cable to which climbers clip short leashes; originally constructed in Europe to move troops, now climbed as sport.
V-thread An anchor in ice made by drilling connected holes and lacing them with cord or webbing, which is then tied into a loop; invented by Vitaly Abalakov.
windslab A layer of unusually firm and dense snow deposited by wind.
wired A chock or hex with a short, factory-applied runner made of wire cable. Being in complete command of the difficulties of a climb.
yard To move upward by pulling on the rope with your hands. To take in large amounts of rope.
zipper When falling on a climb, to pull out several, or all, of the intermediate anchors.
Z-pulley A common 3:1 pulley system.