Marylebone Mountaineering Club Guide to climbing jargon

Ab v. to descend down a rope. Either a quick and convenient way to the bottom of the route or 30 seconds of sheer terror. Ablokov n. an ice thread made by drilling two intersecting holes with an ice screw. Adjectival Grade See British Grade Aid n. artificial assistance, e.g. pulling or hanging on gear. v. to climb using aid. Alpinist n. someone who enjoys climbing very large piles of loose rock held together by rapidly thawing ice in the dark. "Below!" exclamation to warn those below that something is coming towards them from above (e.g. rocks, rope) Bent Shaft refers to a type of ice axe. The shaft is bent so that it is easier to use on steep ice (nothing to do with protecting your knuckles) Beta n. information about a route., e.g. how to do the hard moves, gear placements etc. Beta dilutes an on-sight. Bolt n. normally an expansion bolt placed in rock by first drilling a hole. Can also be glued in to the hole using special resin. In Hollywood, they are shot in from a gun. Used to provide protection, but see ethics. Bomber a. very good, e.g. bomber gear, bomber jug Boulder n. a rock large enough to warrant climbing but not large enough to require protecting with a rope. v. to climb such a boulder Bouldering Mat a portable crash mat used for bouldering British Grade superior grading system utilising an easy to understand adjectival system. E.g Difficult, Very Difficult, Severe etc. Camming device n. a mechanical protection device that has the ability to walk itself in to the most inaccessible places. Chalk n. 1.magnesium carbonate powder used to keep fingers dry and increase friction when climbing. 2. Calcium carbonate cliffs on the south coast climbed with ice axes and crampons. Chipping v. manufacturing holds with a hammer and chisel. See ethics. Crater v. to fall and hit the ground Crux n. the hardest move of a route. Deck v. to fall and hit the ground. Deep Water Solo v. To solo above water (normally the sea). Popular along the Dorset coast. Desmond v. rhyming slang for deck Difficult Grade that is easier than Severe, but in fact is very easy Dog v. to hang on gear, cheat. Ethics mostly British obsession with what is acceptable and unacceptable climbing behaviour. Basically, unacceptable = bolts, chipping, dogging. Acceptable = leaving chalk all over the rock,leaving used toilet paper everywhere else, swearing loudly, wearing Ron Hills (marginal). Extreme Grade that is very difficult. Normally abreviated to E plus a number to denote increasing difficulty. The system is open ended, but goes up to about E9 or E10 which denotes a combination of staggering technical difficulty and mind bending seriousness. Fall Factor the measure of the severity of a fall. It is the length of the fall divided by the length of rope. Max is 2. More than 1 is serious (it will result in hitting the ground if you are on the first pitch) Finger board n. finger strength training aid. Normally mounted above doorways by people who should get out more. Fingery a. route that has small holds and is hard on the fingers Flash v. to climb a route without falling off on your first attempt. Can be qualified as a beta-flash and on-sight flash. Free a. without aid. Often confused with soloing. Gear is only used for protection in the event of falling off, not as a direct aid to climbing. See Aid and Dog. French n. Numerical grading system used primarily for sport routes, sometimes abbreviated to F. Friend n. name of a popular camming device. Full time climber n. a non working route worker. Often found in Sheffield Grade n adjectival or numerical rating of a routes difficulty. Note that routes are graded for an on-sight flash. See also over-graded and under-graded Gear n. Protection. Gripped a. to be very scared on a route. Gripper a. very scary, e.g. gripper-clipper. Gritstone n. a rough and rounded rock found throughout northern England. Requires a refined technique (due to lack of holds) or thuggery (due to jamming cracks). Jam v. climbing technique whereby you finger(s), hand, fist, arm or head is literally jammed in to a crack. Often usefull on gritstone. Jug n. a large handhold Layback v. strenuous climbing technique whereby the climber lays back of a crack or edge in order to force their feet sideways on to an adjacent wall. Often used by those who cant/wont jam. Micro n. a very small nut, often made of brass. See phycological protection. Mixed climbing v. envolving both ice and rock Mono point n. technical ice climbing crampon that has only one front point. Move n. the smallest unit of climbing. Strung together they comprise a pitch. Moving Together v. to climb without pitchs. The leader and second climb at the same time with a fixed length of rope between them. This is faster and used by alpinists. Numerical Grade a primitive grading system used in France and North America. See Adjectival Grades. Nut an aluminium tapered chock used for protection. Available in a range of sizes, usually with a wire loop. So named because the original nuts where in fact nuts Objective danger stone fall, avalanche risk, serac collapse, Mark Winfield's arse, etc.. On-sight v to do a route from the ground up without beta, or previous experience of the route. Over graded a route that seems easier than it should. Probably because you have used all the holds, in the correct sequence, with the correct technique. Peg English for piton. Basically a metal spike hammered in to a crack and used for protection Pitch n. 1. a collection of moves. 2. a section of a route comprising of a leader climbing up to a belay and the second climbing up to join them. A route may be single pitch or multi-pitch. A pitch cannot be longer than your rope. v. to climb a route by dividing in to pitches. See moving together. Piton n. French for peg. Protection n. equipment placed in the rock to protect the climber against hitting the ground if they fall off. Includes nuts, micros, slings, friends, bolts, pegs Prussik v. technique for ascending a rope. n. type of knot used to prussik. Prussik loop loop of rope used to tie knot Psychological Protection n. equipment placed in the rock that probably wont stop the climber from hitting the ground if they fall off, but is better than nothing. Pump n. Rigor mortis in your forearms while you are still alive. Brought on by steep or fingery routes Pumpy a. causes pump Rack n. a climbers collection of nuts, extenders, karabiners and miscellaneous hardware used for protecting a route Rack up v. to arrange the rack on your harness. A good delaying tactic Route n. a collection of pitches. Redpoint v. to do a route without dogging, but with beta gained from working. Sandbag v. to recommend a route that you know is harder than it's grade. n. A route that is harder than its grade. Serious a. usually refers to the dire consequences of falling off. A poorly protected route Severe harder than Difficult and the lowest grade (usually) to merit a technical grade, therefore easy. Slab n. less than vertical rock Sling n. a loop made from nylon tape. Smear n. a slopping foothold. Can be so sloping that it is indistinguishable from the surrounding rock. v. to stand on a sloping foothold, to use friction rather than a positive edge Solo v 1. to climb a route without a partner. 2. to climb a route without both partner and protection. Sport a. bolted, with negligible danger of personal injury, e.g. sport route, sport climbing Steep a. Slightly overhanging; steeper than a wall. Technical a. requiring technique. See thuggy, pumpy and fingery. Thrutch v. to abondon all technique n. a climb or move that requires thrutching (often found on gritstone) Thuggy a. requiring brute strength. See technical and pumpy Tottering pile of choss n. 1.what alpinists climb. 2. Stoney Middleton Under graded a. a route that seems harder than it should. Probably because you have not used all the holds, messed up the sequence, cannot jam or had to much to drink the night before Very grade modifier. E.g Very Difficult (VD) or Very Severe (VS) Wall n. vertical and flat expanse of rock. Big Wall a very high vertical expanse of rock. Drystone Wall a low linear collection of small rocks Warthog n. a long peg used in ice or frozen turf Wire n. a nut on a wire loop Working v. practising difficult moves, often before a redpoint. Not to be confused with employment. See full time climber.