For climbing definitions used within this web site and the world of climbing please select a letter from below.
Bail - v. To end the climb due to a variety of reasons – too difficult, dangerous or down to bad weather. Example – “The pitch was severe and the holds wet due to the rain, so I was forced to bail.”
Bail Biner - n. A Karabiner left behind when belaying or lowering off a climb.
Bandolier - n. A short canvas or nylon sling sometimes with padding, worn over the shoulder and trails down one side of the body. Often worn by the lead climber to hold extra equipment and protection and sometimes referred to as a sling.
Barn door - n. Horrible moment when the body swings away from the rock, often in a sideways motion leaving two points of contact on the wall, usually one hand and one foot, due to the angle. To the onlooker it’s a moment of comedy. To the climber it usually results in fall as it is very hard to come back from.
Base Camp - n The lowest fixed camp on a long route or mountain treck.
Beer - fluid used after success or failure to celebrate or commiserate in equal measure. Particularly useful as a cure all. I love you beer.
Belay - vb. (1) vb. - the process of paying out the rope to the lead climber, or taking in rope for a follower, while he/she climbs, and of preventing rope from being paid out if the climber falls. Belaying allows a climber to fall and live to try again. (2) n. - the place where a climber belays, and the anchor is set up attaching the climber to the rock, normally at the beginning and end of each pitch.
Belay Betty and Belay Bob - The girl or boyfriend of an addicted rock climber.
Belay Device - n. A device that attaches to the climber’s harness through which the rope is threaded for belaying. Its primary purpose is to create friction quickly in the event of a fall so the belayer can stop the rope, which stops the leader’s fall, simply by pulling against the device. The device creates a ‘hairpin’ turn in the rope at all times and allows the belayer to pay out or take in slack freely, and to stop or brake the rope in an instant. Common belay devices: ATC, GriGri, Sticht Plate
Belay Monkey - Any person recruited for the task of belaying for long periods of time. Similar to Belay Betty; usually a non-climbing female recruited to belay a significant other.
Belay Station - n. A secure stance consisting of an anchor, a rope, and a belayer with a belay device. The place where a belayer sits, stands or hangs while belaying.
Belayer - n. The person who pays out the rope to the lead climber, or who takes in rope as the follower climbs, and who prevents the rope from being paid out if the climber falls by pulling the rope against the belay device.
"Below" - Used in Britain to warn for impending impact with objects coming from above (e.g. falling rock, equipment, climbers etc). "Rock" in the US.
Bent gate karabiner - Karibiner with the gate bent to accept the rope more easily.
"Berg Heil !" - A German greeting at the summit.
Bergschrund - Or just 'schrund'. The top crevasse in a glacier or snowfield that is formed when the glacier/snowfield tears away from the remaining patch of snow that is stable on the mountainside.
Beta - n. information about a route.
Betaflash - n. a clean first ascent with no falls after having received beta. (This contrasts an onsightflash, a clean ascent with no prior knowledge of the route. 2. (vb.) to perform a betaflash.
Big wall - n. A large expanse of steep rock taking a minimum of three days to climb with conventional methods (free and aid climbing, hauling a bag with food water and shelter). El Cap and Half Dome in Yosemite Valley are big walls though both have routes that have been climbed in less than a day. The majority of routes on both require three to eight days to climb. Washington Column, Sentinel, and Leaning Tower are usually not referred to as a big walls. 2. (adj.) Of or pertaining to a big wall. (e.g., big wall climbing gear).
Biner - n. Slang for Karabiner, a metal ring with a spring-loaded gate used to attach the rope to protection, and many other things. (See Karabiner/carabiner.)
Bin -v. Used similar to bail in terms of not being able to continue a climb due to a variety of reasons. “The route was too technical and I binned it half way up.” To give up.
Bird Beak - n. A thin hook used as protection in small cracks and pockets.
Bivouac - n. a place to spend the night. 2.(vb.) to spend the night, often in an unexpected location. Slang: Bivy. An uncomfortable sleeping place in the middle of a route. Also a waterproof overall or piece of material that can be slept under as a makeshift tent.
Bivy - n. Slang for Bivouac. A place to spend the night. 2.(vb.) to spend the night, often in an unexpected location.
Black ice - Old ice that was exposed to extremely cold temperatures, scree, and snowfall. Usually found deep in shady couloirs, or on steep north faces. Very hard and dense ice that is difficult to climb.
Blast - (To blast) To begin a big wall, after the line fixing is done. "We're gonna blast on Tuesday morning after we get the first three pitches fixed".
Bleausard - Someone who frequents 'Bleau (or Fontainebleau, the site of some excellent bouldering near Paris).
Blue ice - Very dense ice with a watery hue and few air bubbles.
Bob - vb. Finishing a climb early, not completing a climb. ‘Bobbed out’ or ‘Bobbing out.’
Bobpoint - (slang). The ability to talk a good climb. A new phrase doing the rounds which implies that the climber could have easily ascended the route but due to a variety of reasons the climb was cut short i.e. short on time, running out of light, poor weather, too hungry, not focused on the climb etc.
Bolt - n. A permanent anchor in the rock installed individually as a protection device, or with other bolts or protection devices as an anchor. The bolt is a metal shaft 1/4 inch, 3/8 inch or 5/16 inch in diameter (common sizes), driven into a hole drilled by the climber, and equipped with a hanger to attach a carabiner. Generally, no one installs 1/4 inch bolts anymore, and because most of them are more than 25 years old, they should not be used when found. Occasionally they can be pried out by hand, or break under body weight.
Bomber - adj. a corruption of "bombproof" meaning very secure.
Bombproof - adj. Very secure, unlikely to move even when subjected to great force.
Bonehead - A (novice) climber with little instinct and too much enthusiasm. Knows just enough about climbing to get themselves and others badly hurt.
"Bonne Grimpe !" - A French greeting to climbers when they start the climb.
Bootie - Gear (nuts, cams, etc.) that was left behind on a climb by the previous party and not collected on the way down. Usually left after a party has had a problem and had to finish the climb mid ascent.
Boulder - n./v. a big rock typically climbed without a rope. May be head high to over 30 feet. Each boulder may have many distinct routes. Boulder problems are often top roped (See top rope), but climbing without a rope is thought to be better style. To boulder or to go bouldering is to climb boulder problems.
Bouldering - v. A discipline of climbing that concentrates on technical problems on either outdoor boulders or specific routes at indoor climbing walls. Doesn’t require the use of ropes or protection, as the emphasis is on solving crux problems close to the ground. Bouldering competitions are very popular at climbing walls.
Bouldering Pad - n. A mat three to four inches thick, and roughly four feet square placed on the ground under a boulderer to cushion a fall. Usually made of layers of foam of various densities and covered with heavy, durable nylon and equipped with straps so that it can be folded in half and carried from place to place on the climber’s back. Also known as a crash pad.
Bouncing - v. Sport climbing technique used to regain the rock after falling and the climber is hanging free and out of reach of the rock. The climber climbs the rope hand over hand (very strenuous), and then drops. At the instant the climber lets go, the belayer hauls in slack thereby raising the climber. Repeating this process eventually brings the climber back to the rock. Also known as boinking, and to superman (compare with batman). Not recommended practice.
Bowline - Sailing knot (not to be used for climbing, unless backed up with a second knot)
Brain bucket - climbing helmet.
Bucket - A large hold. In the UK the term “Jug” is used.
Brake Hand - n. The hand that holds the rope on the opposite side of the belay device to the climber.
Bridging - v. Climbing manouver involving arching the legs across a gap to put pressure on two opposing holds or walls. See also: Stemming.
Bucket - n. big handhold that is easy to hold onto. Usually a depression, hole or scoop (concave) in the rock. See also jug.
Buildering - n. to climb on buildings or manmade structures. Often done for training for rock climbing.
Bust a move (to bust a move) - To successfully execute a hard crux move
Buttress - n. A part of the mountain
or rock formation that stands out from the main face. May also be used to
describe the corner of a rock formation, e.g., the East Buttress of Middle
Cathedral.
