Glossary
Adze: flat, wide end of the head used for chopping steps in hard snow and ice.
Aid Climbing: climbing using placed or fixed protection to hang, climb and/or rest on.
Alpine Start: an early start that ranges from starting at 11:00 pm of the night before on long routes to not long before sunrise for shorter routes or faster parties.
Anchor: the means by which the climber is secured to the rock, snow, or ice (boulder, tree, chock, piton, snow bollard, fluke, deadman, picket, ice screw, etc.).
Approach: The route or walk in to the base of a climb
Autoblock: A rope device that is clipped to the harness and used as a friction hitch on the rope (often used in ascending a rope or rappelling) as a backup in the event of an emergency
Belay: procedure for protecting or securing a climber using a rope and/or anchor(s). Can be from above or below the climber, depending on the system used.
Bivouac (Bivy): an overnight stay, sometimes unplanned (unplanned often referred to as “benighted”).
Bollard: a type of anchor built of snow or ice.
Bomb-Proof: a very safe anchor or combination of anchors (also called “bomber”).
Camming Device: rock protection that by rotating increases the jamming force of the device, can be mechanical or non-mechanical (also called cams).
Carabiner : an aluminum alloy ring with a spring-loaded gate used to connect climbing equipment (e.g. harness to rope, rope to anchor etc.). Can be locking or non-locking.
Chock: a wedge or mechanical device placed in a rock crack for anchor (also called stopper, nut).
"CLIPPING!": A command used to indicate to another climber when clipping their personal protection through/around an anchor or carabiner
Cordelette: a longer piece of cord (usually 5.5 to 7 millimeter diameter) used for anchor building and friction hitches.
Cornice: an overhang of snow caused by wind drifting, generally off the leeward side of a ridge—dangerous to be out on or under.
Crampon: a metal traction device with spikes that attach to footwear to assist climbing on snow or ice. May have 10 or 12 points and be rigid or hinged.
Crevasse: a crack in the surface of a glacier, may be hidden by snow cover.
Crux: the most difficult section of a climb or pitch.
Deadman: an anchor built by burying something (e.g. pack, picket, ice axe, bag of snow, etc.).
Dehydration: the absence of a sufficient amount of water in your body.
Exposure: the subjective feeling of unease associated with a route, related to the visible distance between the climber and the ground.
Edge: a small rock ledge or the act of standing on a small edge with the side of your foot.
Fixed Line: a line anchored in place so that climbers can self-belay from the line.
Free Climb: to climb using only hands and feet (the rope is for fall protection not as a climbing aid).
Gaiters: a piece of clothing wrapped around the ankle and upper boot to prevent snow and/or rock from entering the boot at the boot-pant interface.
Glacier: a river of ice flowing, and creeping, down a mountain; formed in areas where more snow falls than melts.
Glissade: a controlled slide down a snow slope, usually sitting or standing.
Ice Axe: a mountain climbing tool consisting of a head with adze and pick, a shaft, and a spike. Used for self-arrest, self-belay, and a cane.
Jam: wedging feet, hands, fingers, or other body parts into a rock crack for a hold.
Kick Step: see Step kicking.
Lead: to be the first person on a climb, the one who places protection for the followers.
Picket: an aluminum stake driven into the snow as an anchor.
Pitch: the section of a climb between belays.
Piton: metal spike hammered into rock for an anchor.
Plunge step: down climbing method where the heel of the boot is placed firmly into the slope to gain purchase for the next step.
Protection (Pro): the anchors used to safeguard the climber
Prusik: a hitch, also a method for climbing a rope using cord loops tied to the climbing rope with prusik hitches. This hitch tightens in the direction of the pull, yet can be moved, slid, when un-weighted or in the opposite direction of the weight.
Quickdraw: short sling with carabiners, minimizes drag when clipping the climbing rope to anchors.
Rappel: descending by sliding down a rope.
Rest Step: a climbing step that includes a brief hesitation to gain momentary rest.
"ROCK!": A warning of falling rocks, gear, or other debris. Cover your head and don't look up!
Runner (Sling): a webbing or cord loop used to connect climbing equipment, as in anchor to carabiner, carabiner to runner, runner to carabiner to rope etc.
Scree: mountain slope consisting of small loose rock fragments.
Second: (Follower): member(s) of rope team not leading a pitch.
Self-Arrest: the act of halting a slide down a snow or ice slope generally using an ice axe.
"Slack!": A Command used when a climber needs a little extra rope to make a move. The belayer is signaled to allow slightly less tension on the rope.
Sling: see Runner.
Spike (Ice Axe): the sharp bottom point of the ice axe that penetrates snow and ice.
Step Cutting or Chopping: A snow climbing technique where a small platform is chopped (cut) into hard snow or ice with an ice axe while moving up or down a slope.
Step kicking: a snow climbing technique where a small platform is kicked into the snow with the boot while moving forward and upward.
Talus: accumulation of debris in sheets or cones at the bases of rock walls.
Top-rope: a climb when the climber has a belay rope and anchor from above, often used in practice situations. Depending on the system the belayer can be above or below the climber.
Traverse: to climb sideways with or without vertical progress.
"WATCH ME": A command from a climber when they are about to make a difficult move and need an attentive belay.
Webbing: flat profile nylon (almost always tubular) used to make tied or sewn slings.
Yosemite Decimal System: This system categorizes terrain according to the techniques and physical difficulties encountered.
Class 1: Hiking.
Class 2: Simple scrambling, with possible use of the hands.
Class 3: Scrambling: a rope might be carried.
Class 4: Simple climbing, often with exposure. A rope is often used. A fall could be fatal.
Class 5: Where rock climbing begins in earnest. Class 5 is further subdivided 5.0—5.15
Most Mazamas hikes are Class 1 and 2; rock climbing in BCEP will be Class 4 or low Class 5.