42 Common Rock Climbing Terms for Beginner Climbers

If you’re new to rock climbing, you may find the myriad jargon of the climbing world fascinating, confusing, intimidating… or all of these things! Numerous resources contain exhaustive lists of climbing terminology, but these comprehensive climbing vocabulary lists can be overwhelming. We complied this list of “essential climbing terms” for first-time climbers and those otherwise new to the sport, to help you make sense of climbing lingo you may hear in the climbing gym or at an outdoor climbing area.

This resource will get you acquainted with climbing lingo and related topics, but remember, it’s crucial to seek out qualified instruction and sound mentorship as you advance as a climber.

Here is a handful of terms you’ll want to know for your day out at the crag.

Types of Rock Climbing

Bouldering

Bouldering at Devil’s Lake. The climber attempts a problem, while two buddies spot him with their hands, using thick crash pads to cushion a fall.

Bouldering is climbing short routes (aka problems), 10 - 25 feet tall, often on short cliffs and boulders that aren’t large enough to justify roped climbing. Boulderers typically do not wear helmets and harnesses to protect them from injury. Instead, they use thick, cushioned mats called crash pads to provide soft landing zones, and spotters to guide them into these landing zones when falling.

Bouldering is generally more social than roped climbing, as many climbers can “work” a route together, each hopping on and off to try/compare/suggest moves, spotting each other, and offering encouragement and ideas. Bouldering can be done indoors or out. Check out this video to learn some bouldering basics, or this video for highlights from our favorite bouldering area.

Free Climbing

Free Climbing is what most folks think of as “rock climbing.” In free climbing, we use only our bodies - our hands, feet, arms, back, knees, etc. - to ascend the features of the rock, rather than pulling or stepping on or climbing equipment (like slings or makeshift ladders) for upward progress.

Most free climbers also use a harness, rope, and other climbing gear to protect themselves in case of a fall, but any upward progress is dependent on the climber’s skill and strength. Top-roping, lead climbing, and bouldering all fall within the free climbing category, while aid climbing is not free climbing.

A climber places a cam on lead. He will climb the rope to the cam, then continue climbing above it to the next placement opportunity.

Lead Climbing

In Lead Climbing, the climbers and their rope start climbing from the ground-up, with no protection or safeguards above them. The climber places protection (small, removable anchors) in rock features as they climb (traditional leading), or uses permanent bolts already in the rock (sport leading). The climber clips the rope to each piece of gear as they pass. If the climber should fall, their highest piece of protection will hold the rope and limit the fall so the climber does not hit the ground. That’s the idea, anyway.

Lead climbers risk taking bigger falls than top-rope climbers, because if a leader falls when their last piece of protection is below them, they fall at least twice the distance from the piece. For example, if the piece is five feet below them, they fall five feet to the piece, then five feet past it. For further explanation, see Petzl’s fantastic illustrations.

Scrambling

Scrambling bridges the gap between hiking and rock climbing. Scrambling is moving through rocky terrain not steep or exposed enough to warrant the protection of a rope, but difficult enough to require use of both hands and feet. Climbers and hikers often scramble through talus or boulder fields, or up/down steep gullies.

Top rope rock climbing. The climber is tied to the rope, which goes through an anchor at the cliff top, then back down to the belayer.

Sport Climbing

Sport Climbing is a type of lead climbing where the climber clips bolted hangers permanently fixed to the rock as they climb to protect them from falling to the ground. At equal route difficulty, sport climbing is much easier than trad climbing, as the climber need not worry about carrying or placing artificial protection. When a sport leader falls on a bolt, they generally need not worry it will fail, unlike falling on artificial placements.

Watch this video to learn more about sport climbing. If you’re a Wisconsin or Midwest local, read our post on Wisconsin’s Sport Climbing Areas.

Top Roping

The lowest-risk approach to rock climbing, top-roping protects the climber by attaching them to a pre-constructed “top anchor” via a climbing rope before the climber begins to ascend. By climbing while connected to a top rope, the climber cannot fall very far - a few feet at most - and the climber enjoys a strong sense of security.

In bottom-managed top-rope climbing scenarios, the belayer manages the rope from the base of the cliff, where the climber begins, and lowers the climber back to their starting point after they finish climbing.

In top-managed scenarios, the belayer belays from the cliff top, next to the anchor, and the climber ascends up to them. This is common in sea cliff areas, like Tettegouche State Park or Acadia National Park, as well as in certain ice climbing areas, like Pictured Rocks or Ouray Ice Park.

Traditional (Trad) Climbing

In traditional climbing a climber places artificial protection (metal pieces like cams, nuts, hexes, etc.) into rock features (cracks or constrictions) to protect them in case of a fall. Trad climbing requires a foundation in good climbing technique, as well as a thorough knowledge of how to place artificial protection. It is not uncommon for a trad leader to fall 10 - 15 feet onto a piece of gear that may or may not hold. To see trad climbing in action, check out this video.

Basic Rock Climbing Equipment

Carabiners generally connect soft materials (e.g. ropes, webbing and harnesses) with other soft materials.

Anchor

A climbing anchor is a single piece or gear or a network of rock climbing equipment intended to secure something - a climber, a climbing rope, other equipment - to a fixed, unmovable position. Climbing anchors may be permanent or “fixed” installations, or they may be temporary and removeable. Seek qualified instruction before trusting self-constructed anchors with your life or the lives of others.

Belay Glasses

Belay glasses are eyewear with prismatic lenses, allowing the wearer to see the climber and terrain above them without craning their neck. Check out our post on Belay Specs.

Carabiner

A carabiner is an ovular piece of aluminum or steel hardware with a gate that opens and closes, often used to connect pieces of climbing equipment.

Locking carabiners feature gates that lock, either manually (via turning) or automatically (via an internal spring or magnet); the locking mechanism prevents the carabiner from opening unexpectedly. Non-locking carabiners have gates that open and close freely and cannot lock shut.

Carabiners come in a few different common shapes, including the classic oval, the “D,” and the HMS or pear-shaped “pearabiner.” Each shape is best suited for particular climbing uses.

Chalk

Climbing chalk is very similar to the stuff gymnasts use to keep their hands dry. Roped climbers usually carry chalk in a small pouch attached by a cord or belt around their waste, positioned behind their back. Chalk absorbs moisture on a climber’s hands to provide better friction/grip on the rock.

Guidebook

A climbing guidebook features route descriptions, difficulty ratings, route and crag photos, and general information about the climbing areas and communities included within it.

Climbers use guidebooks to learn about climbing areas new to them, to navigate unfamiliar terrain and climbing routes, and to plan their climbing days and future goals. While mobile apps like Mountain Project have made physical guidebooks less essential, a good guidebook like Jay Knower’s Devil’s Lake: A Climbing Guide is worth its weight in gold.

Two climbers use safety tethers for protection while working on a high ledge on the Lost Face.

Harness

Worn by both the climber and the belayer, a harness is an adjustable belt with attached leg loops, used to connect a person to the climbing rope. Harnesses come in many shapes and sizes, from no-frills, unpadded minimalist harnesses for alpine mountaineering, to well-padded, tricked-out harnesses to make a multi-day, gear-intensive big wall mission more comfortable. The best harness for you will depend on your size, gender, and intended use.

Helmet

A climbing helmet is a protective hard hat mean to protect your most valuable equipment, your brain. Though you’ll often see climbers in magazines and social media with naked heads, consider a helmet essential equipment.

Helmets protect climbers from falling objects (including not only rocks, but water bottles, haul bags, various debris) and blows to the head (typically self-inflicted via falling or other). 5,067 climbers suffered head and neck injuries in the U.S. from 2009 to 2018 - don’t be a statistic!

Safety Tether / Personal Anchor system (PAS)

Climbers use a safety tether or personal anchor system (PAS) to connect their harness directly to an anchor. There are specialized items for this purpose, such as the Metolius PAS or the Petzl Connect Adjust, but it’s also common to use a 48” sewn loop of webbing (called a sling).

Core Rock Climbing Skills

A happy belayer uses a Petzl GriGri to belay her climber, protecting them from a possible fall.

Belay

Belaying is the act of managing the rope for a climber. Belaying involves feeding out (lead climbing)or taking in (top-rope climbing) slack as a climber progresses upward, so the climber is “caught” by the rope in the event of a fall. While climbing pioneers belayed by simply wrapping the rope around their midsection, modern climbers most commonly belay via a belay device connect with a carabiner to the belay loop on their harness.

Most belay devices create friction, which allow the rope to slide freely in the feed position, while providing high friction to assist a falling climbing in the brake position. You can learn to belay at your local climbing gym or from a climbing guide, but this video will help you get familiar with how it works.

Edging

Edging is a climbing footwork technique which involves placing the edges of the climbing shoe on small edges, rather than using the broad soles of the feet.

Rappelling

Rappelling is how a climber descends independently down a cliff or mountain face, controlling speed via a rappel device (many styles area available). Rappelling is often confused by novice climbers with lowering, where a partner/belayer lowers a climber. Rappelling is something YOU do, lowering is someone does TO you.

Tying in with a well dressed figure eight knot.

Smearing

Smearing is a climbing footwork technique where you press as much of your sticky rubber sole as possible into the rock in an effort to gain friction, rather than stepping on an edge or hold. Novice climbers are often shocked how well smearing works, once they figure out how it works.

Traversing

Traversing is climbing roughly horizontally across terrain. The term covers at all difficulties; climbers may traverse low angle, blocky terrain (such as when scrambling), across the top of a mountain ridge, or along a ledge system of a vertical rock climb.

Tying In

Tying in is the act of attaching the climbing rope to one’s harness. Typically, climbers tie in using a figure 8 follow through knot. After a climber ties in, they conduct a safety check to ensure they and the belayer are adequately prepared to start climbing.

Rock Climbing Safety & Ethics

Belay Commands

Sometimes called “belay agreement” or “belay contract”, belay commands are a brief exchange of verbal phrases between the climber and belayer that formally commence the belay relationship. Belay commands provide an opportunity to double-check the each person’s equipment and confirm the belayer is ready to manage the climber’s rope attentively.

Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace (LNT) is a set of principles for outdoor conduct intended to protect natural environment from human degradation. Read about the seven Leave No Trace principles and be sure to practice them when you climb.

Young hikers mitigate objective risk at the cliff edge by laying down, rather than standing.

Objective Risk

Objective risks are hazards inherent to a given situation, which climbers cannot control. Rockfall, lightning, and slippery surfaces are examples of objective hazards. We can’t control objective risk, but we can anticipate them and work proactively to reduce the likelihood of negative consequences. Even with the best decision-making, however, we cannot fully eliminate objective risks.

Risk Management

Risk management is the practice of identifying subjective risks and anticipating objective risks so your personal or group activities do not exceed an acceptable risk. This is an ongoing process we are all engaged in in our daily lives - how fast we choose to drive, whether we drink expired milk, etc. - but risk management should take a prevalent role in your climbing. Thorough advance planning, packing the right equipment, and working within your own limits are just a few elements of a solid risk management approach.

Subjective Risk

Subjective risk is perceived risk, based on perception, emotions and/or prior experience. Many people who feel climbing is “crazy” are offering a subjective risk assessment based on their own limited experience. The more experience we gain with an activity, the better able we are to understand the true, or objective, risk the activity involves.

Rock Climbing Terrain Terms

Approach

The hike to a climbing area, or to the base of a specific route, is the approach. Approaches can be anything from a paved 5-minute walk from the parking lot to the crag, to a 20-minute hike on a maintained trail, to a full-day, off-trail scramble across forest and talus. On your approach, you’ll want your hands free to help you hike and climb (we suggest carrying everything in a sturdy backpack) as well as sturdy, supportive closed-toed shoes to protect your feet and ankles.

Arête

An arête is a vertical corner of rock pointing out, away from the main cliff mass. Also called an “outside corner.” The opposite of an arête is a dihedral.

Stemming up a chimney route.

Chimney / Chimneying

A chimney (noun) is a natural gap between two opposing rock faces.

Chimneying (verb) aka stemming (verb) is ascending a chimney by pushing on its opposite walls simultaneously. Chimney climbing is quite physical, requiring a climber to employ their hands, feet, back, knees, elbows and even their head as the negotiate varying chimney widths.

Crack Climbing

A crack climb is one which follows a single crack, or a system of cracks, to the top of the route. Crack climbing often requires various techniques of jamming one’s fingers, hands or feet into the crack to make upward progress.

Crag

A crag is a small rock climbing area, typically defined physically by the dominant rock feature (like a buttress or cliff face). A crag usually contains numerous climbing routes.

Lead Guide Sarah Geers makes her way up a dihedral.

Dihedral

A dihedral is an inside corner, similar to the shape in the interior spine of an open book. A dihedral may be short, or it may continue for a long stretch - even the entire climb. A dihedral is the opposite of an arête.

Face Climb

A face climb ascends a more-or-less vertical wall of rock, typically without major corners, cracks or large ledges. Face climbs are most similar to routes you might climb in a climbing gym, as they often feature familiar holds, such as pockets, ledges, ridges, and horns.

Route Rating

Every climb eventually receives a route rating, which indicates the overall difficulty. Initially designated by the first person to climb the route, the rating may change over time if popular consensus disagrees with the original rating.

American climbers use the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) to rate routes. Technical climbing routes start with the number 5, followed by a decimal point. The number following the decimal point indicates the overall difficulty. For example, 5.4 is less difficult than 5.9.

Slab Climb

A slab climb is similar to a face climb, but on a significantly less-than-vertical wall. Difficult slab climbs often demand strong balance and offer few holds, requiring delicate movement and ample smearing to make upward progress. Slab climb are often favored by climber who aren’t physically strong, but have a good sense of balance.

Problem

A problem is a climbing path on a boulder and features specific starting and finishing points. Sometimes problems feature somewhat contrived situations, like starting as low as possible (maybe even seated on the ground) or avoiding nearby features that are “off”. A single boulder can feature many problems, and solving a tough problem is often problematic.

Rock Climbing Communication

Beta

Beta is information about a climbing route, such as where the best or key holds are, or what sequence one must use them to successfully ascend. A belayer might offer beta to their climber by making suggestions for hand or foot placements, or a friend might offer beta about the approach to a crag, the best time to visit a climbing area, or what equipment best protects a given route.

Crux

The hardest section or section of a rock climbing route is the crux. Cruxes are subjective and vary from climber to climber. Not every route has a distinct crux, and some routes have multiple cruxes. Confusing enough?

Friction

Friction is the resistance of two surfaces moving across each other and is a crucial concept in rock climbing. Belay devices use friction to assist in stopping a fall or controlling a descent. Climbing shoes’ sticky rubber allows for more friction between a climber’s feet and the rock. Climbers fall when they lose sufficient friction with the rock face. Some types of rock are coarse (high friction) while others are smooth and glassy (low friction).

Pumped

When a climber squeezes holds hard for a prolonged period of time, they get pumped. As a climber exhausts their grip strength while climbing, the body sends blood to the forearm muscles to supply more oxygen. This “blood flood” causes the forearms to feel tight, hard, stretched and weak, and often makes blood vessels appear more prominent.

“Rock!”

Climbers yell “rock!” when they see, hear or sense a falling rock or other object. Typically, a climber shouts “rock!” to alert the belayer and anyone else at the base of the cliff to move out of the way and avoid looking straight up. If you hear “rock” and can’t move, better to let the rock hit your helmet than your face!

“Take!”

A climber yells “take!” when they want the belayer pull the rope as tight as possible so the climber can weight the rope. Climbers usually “take” when they are ready to be lowered by a belayer, or when they anticipate a fall while climbing.