·Climbing Words

Climbing words, in plain English

Lead and bouldering terms for parents and kids finding their feet in the sport -- searchable, filterable, and cross-linked to the rest of the Learn hub.

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73 entries

The Foundations

What a coach builds in the early years -- and why trained climbing looks so different from scrambling around.

Climb with your legs, not your arms

Instinct

Hauls up hand-over-hand and is worn out in two minutes.

Coached

Pushes up with the legs - the strongest muscles in the body - and saves the arms mostly for balance.

This one habit is the biggest difference between a trained climber and a strong kid who tires fast.

Eyes on the feet

Instinct

Watches the hands and slaps feet onto whatever’s near.

Coached

Looks at each foothold and places the toe quietly and exactly before trusting weight to it.

Read it from the ground

Instinct

Jumps straight on and works it out while already pumping out.

Coached

Studies the wall first, plans the order of moves, and spots where a rest is possible.

This is the “route reading” habit coaches build early.

Hang on straight arms

Instinct

Clings on with bent, burning arms and gasses out fast.

Coached

Keeps the arms straight so the skeleton carries the weight, and finds spots to shake out and recover.

Turn the hips to the wall

Instinct

Stays square-on and reaches with the arm alone.

Coached

Turns a hip in and brings the body close, so the next hold falls into reach for free.

The idea behind twist lock and drop knee.

Commit, don’t freeze

Instinct

Stalls halfway, second-guesses the move, and peels off.

Coached

Decides, commits, and goes - treating a controlled fall as part of learning, not as failure.

Moriah’s “go or nothing” rule in a sentence.

Basics

Bouldering

Climbing short, powerful problems close to the ground, with no rope. Thick mats below catch the fall.

Lead climbing

Lead

Roped climbing where you clip the rope into the wall as you go up. A fall drops you to your last clip, so it takes commitment.

Top rope

Lead

Roped climbing with the rope already anchored at the top, so falls are short. The usual starting point before lead.

Send

Both

To climb a route or problem all the way from start to finish without falling or resting on the rope.

In the tracker: The goal behind every result in the climb log.

Project

Both

A climb at the edge of what you can do, worked over many sessions before you finally send it.

In the tracker: A result option in the log, and a focus for Mon and Anouk.

Beta

Both

The sequence of moves and little tricks for how to do a climb. “What’s the beta?” means “how do you do it?”

Crux

Both

The single hardest move or section of a climb.

Onsight

Both

Sending a climb first try with no help - no watching others, no tips. The purest tick.

In the tracker: A result you can log.

Flash

Both

Sending first try, but with beta - you’d watched someone or been told how.

In the tracker: A result you can log.

Redpoint

Both

Sending a climb cleanly after practising it over earlier attempts.

Take a fall

Both

Coming off the wall. Falling safely is its own skill - and a confidence focus for lead.

In the tracker: Logged as “Fell”; falls practice appears in Mon’s tasks.

Lead

Belay

Lead

Managing the rope to hold a climber and catch falls. The belayer matters as much as the climber.

Clipping

Lead

Snapping the rope into a quickdraw as you lead. Doing it smoothly, at the right height, is a real skill.

In the tracker: One of Mon’s and Anouk’s lead skills.

Quickdraw

Lead

Two carabiners linked by webbing. They hang off bolts on the wall; the rope runs through them.

Lead pass

Lead

A gym sign-off that you can lead climb and belay safely - usually a tested check.

In the tracker: Mon holds one; Marc’s is targeted for next year.

Whipper

Lead

A big lead fall, caught by the rope after you’ve climbed above your last clip.

Runout

Lead

A stretch where your last clip is well below you, so a fall would be longer. Takes a cool head.

Pump

Both

That swollen, weak feeling in the forearms after lots of gripping. Endurance work pushes it back.

Rope drag

Lead

Friction as the rope zig-zags through the draws, making upward movement feel heavy.

Bouldering

Problem

Bouldering

A bouldering route. Roped climbs are “routes”; boulder climbs are “problems”.

Crash pad

Bouldering

The thick padded floor under boulder problems that cushions falls and down-climbs.

Top out

Bouldering

Finishing a boulder by climbing over the top onto the surface above, not just touching a final hold.

Mantle

Both

Pressing down on a hold to push your body up over a ledge - like climbing out of a pool.

Dyno

Both

A jump between holds where you briefly leave the wall completely to reach something far away.

In the tracker: Shows up as “Dynamic” in the boulder skill radar.

Spotting

Bouldering

Standing behind a boulderer to steer their fall safely onto the mat - guiding, not catching.

Holds

Jug

Both

A big, friendly hold you can wrap a whole hand around. The easy ones.

Crimp

Both

A small edge held with fingertips, fingers bent. Hard on young fingers, so coaches limit it.

Sloper

Both

A rounded, grip-less-feeling hold you hold by friction with an open hand.

Pinch

Both

A hold you squeeze between thumb and fingers.

Pocket

Both

A hole that only fits one to three fingers.

Volume

Both

A big shaped feature bolted to the wall, often with smaller holds set on top of it.

Moves

Flagging

Both

Stretching a leg out to one side as a counterweight, without putting it on a hold, to stay balanced.

Heel hook

Both

Using the heel on a hold to pull yourself in or hold your body steady.

Toe hook

Both

Hooking the top of the toes onto a hold - common on steep walls and roofs.

Smear

Both

Pressing the sole of the shoe flat against the wall for grip when there’s no foothold.

Edging

Both

Standing on a small foothold with the edge of the shoe, rather than smearing.

Match

Both

Getting both hands (or both feet) onto the same hold.

In the tracker: “No matching” is a deliberate drill - see Training.

Gaston

Both

Pulling a hold sideways with the elbow out, like prising open a set of lift doors.

Drop knee

Both

Turning a knee inward and down to gain reach and lock into the wall - handy on overhangs.

Bump

Both

Quickly moving the same hand up through one hold to a better one.

Lock off

Both

Holding still on a bent arm while the other hand reaches - control rather than swinging.

Twist lock

Both

Turning a hip into the wall so a straight arm reaches further with less effort. Often paired with a drop knee or backstep.

Backstep

Both

Putting the outside edge of your foot on a hold and turning your hip to the wall, which opens up your reach.

Weight shift

Both

Moving your body weight over your feet before you move a hand, so your legs carry the load instead of your arms.

In the tracker: Tracked as “Weight Shifting” in Marc’s skill radar.

Rock over

Both

Shifting your weight up and over a high foot to stand on it - the move that gets you up a slab.

High step

Both

Placing a foot up near hip height, then standing up on it to gain height. Needs flexibility and balance.

Stem

Both

Pushing outward against two opposing walls or holds at once to stay on. Common in corners and dihedrals. Also called bridging.

Frog

Both

Dropping both knees out to the sides with heels in, to step a foot high or stay tucked close to the wall.

Deadpoint

Both

A controlled lunge that catches the hold right at the top of the movement, where you’re weightless for a split second. Sits between a static move and a full dyno.

Static

Both

Moving slowly and in control, holding each position. The opposite of a dynamic move.

Quiet feet

Both

Placing your feet precisely and softly, with no scraping or readjusting. A core footwork goal.

In the tracker: The aim behind the “Footwork” skill score.

Counterbalance

Both

Using an arm or leg as a counterweight to stop your body swinging off the wall. Flagging is one kind.

Wall types

Slab

Both

A wall that leans back, less than straight up. All footwork and balance - looks easy, isn’t.

In the tracker: A wall type in the climb log.

Vertical

Both

A straight-up wall, around 90°. Also called a face.

In the tracker: A wall type in the climb log.

Overhang

Both

A wall that leans out past vertical, so you climb at an angle. Powerful and pumpy.

In the tracker: A wall type in the climb log.

Roof

Both

A section that goes horizontal, straight over your head.

Arête

Both

The outward-facing corner or edge of a wall - climbed by squeezing around it.

Dihedral

Both

An inward-facing corner where two walls meet, like an open book. Also called a corner.

Grades

Ewbank

Lead

Australia’s number scale for roped climbs - 15, 20, 24 and up. Higher is harder, and it never caps out.

In the tracker: The grade picker for lead and top rope.

V-scale

Bouldering

The bouldering difficulty scale - VB, V0, V1 and up. Higher is harder.

In the tracker: The grade picker for boulder.

Colour grades

Both

Many gyms grade by hold colour instead of numbers. Each gym’s colours mean different things, so they don’t swap between gyms.

In the tracker: Why Vincent translates each gym’s colours into V-grades.

Training

Go or nothing

Both

Fully committing to a move instead of hesitating halfway. One of Moriah’s core rules.

In the tracker: Commitment is a focus area for Mon.

Route reading

Both

Studying a climb from the ground and planning the moves before you leave the floor.

Sequencing

Both

Working out the order of moves - which hand, which foot, in what order.

In the tracker: A focus area for Marc.

Process over outcome

Both

Setting a goal about how you climb (e.g. “no hesitating today”) rather than only whether you send.

In the tracker: The banner on every dashboard.

No matching

Both

A drill that bans putting both hands on the same hold, forcing deliberate, planned moves.

In the tracker: One of Marc’s and Mon’s training tasks.

Self-soothing

Both

Staying calm and resetting when frustrated on the wall, instead of melting down or giving up.

In the tracker: A focus area for Marc and Remy.