Rock Climbing Terminology

Rock climbing is considered an extreme sport and it is true. Once you get a taste of it, however, you will be addicted. To immerse yourself in the fun of hanging from vertical services, you need to know the terminology used.

A bivouac is one of those things you will only use when you become an advanced climber. It is a sleeping bad/tent that you use in the middle of a climb when night sets. It hands from the wall and is uncomfortable.

One of the pillars of rock climbing is the bolt. A bolt is pretty much what it sounds like. It is a piece of steel bolted into a rock and used as an anchor. Due to its strong hold on the rock, it is a very safe think to hook on to prevent long falls.

As with any sport, a bit of practice will help your climbing. For many, this means bouldering. Bouldering is simply climbing on boulders or other surfaces that provide interesting challenges, but are not particularly high and thus fairly safe.

At its core, free solo climbing is the sport at its most pure. It is literally you and the rock. No gear, no ropes, no nothing. You rely on your own skill completely. Of course, you have no safety element if you fall. Only to be done by expert climbers.

Climbing is full of slang terms. A chicken head is one and it refers to a jutting of rock that forms a smooth knob you can use for a handhold. There is a very adult slang term also used for this, which you can probably guess.

What do rock climbers do during the winter? They either fly somewhere warm to climb or go ice climbing. If you ice climb, you need to know what crampons are. They are spikes that strap onto the bottom of your boots and can be used to anchor yourself.

Frog in the headlights is a slang term used for a climber that freezes when they look down from a high climb and get intimidated. Their eyes get big like a frog and they freeze like a deer in the headlights of a car.

The finger lock is a common, but advanced climbing technique. It is essentially the cramming of multiple fingers in a crack on the climbing surface to create a hold. One has to be careful not to get the fingers stuck in the crack, which can happen given your weight.

The next time someone asks you how many languages you speak, you can now add climbing to the list. Fortunately, this language is easy to learn. Even better, you don’t have to roll your Rs.

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