Harness: a loop of strength-rated nylon around each leg joined to one around your waist by a fourth one called a ‘belay loop’. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes for different styles of climbing, shapes of foot and deepnesses of wallet but a cheaper shoe that fits you well is always going to perform better than an expensive one that doesn’t. A tight fitting shoe with a sole made of high-friction (sticky) rubber which allow you to precisely apply pressure to climbing holds. EquipmentĬlimbing shoes: can be known as rock shoes, rock boots, stickies. Often used by opposing the force of your feet. Undercut: an upside-down hold which can be a jug, crimp or sloper. Jam: there are many types of jam, but they all involve wedging a part of your body into a gap and hoping it sticks. Pinch: hold names are quite literal sometimes so I’ll let you work this one out for yourself. Sloper: a rounded, convex hold that you can only grip with an open hand, usually relying heavily on friction to help you out. Jug: does what it says on the tin- a big hold you can get a good grip on line the rim of a jug.Ĭrimp: any small hold big enough for just your fingertips. Climbing holds (bonus tip: they’re not called grips)
BLOCS CLIMBING FREE
Solo/soloing: Like Alex Honnold in Free Solo, it means climbing a route that any mere mortal would use ropes for with nothing but your climbing shoes and malfunctioning amygdala for protection. Route: applies to any climb done with ropes, the line of holds you follow to the top.īloc/problem: the same as a route but refers to bouldering. Sport climbing: leading outdoors on real rock at established crags. See how it works? The leader leads and the second goes, well, second. Seconding: climbing a lead climb your partner has just completed. It’s more like climbing outdoors but does bring the potential for larger falls than top-roping. Leading/lead climbing: climbing whilst clipping a rope tied to your harness to fixed points as you go. Top-roping: climbing whilst kept safe by a rope which is already in-situ at the top of the climb. Send it bro! Types of climbingīouldering: low-height climbing without ropes, usually up to around 4 metres indoors and often much more physical than roped climbing. Have you ever been sandbagged? How’s your redpointing? Here’s our list of the most common terms a new climber should get to grips with in order to hold their own in coversation with even the most rad climber dudes. Unlike other sports though, climbing terms can often be difficult (or impossible) for people new to the sport to work out from context.
Climbing, like any sport, is awash with technical terms and highly specific lingo.