For climbing definitions used within this web site and the world of climbing please select a letter from below.
Cam - n. Abbreviation of camming device, removable, portable protection that fits into gaps and crevices in rock and expands to grip. Allows a lead climber to clip rope into (clip into) and set a route. Assists in preventing climbers from falling great distances.
Campus - vb to work out on a campus board. 2. (vb.) to exact rock climbing moves with feet dangling as if using a campus board in a way reminiscent of using monkey bars.
Campus board - n. a wrunged ladderlike training device used to train for climbing. Originated by the Late Wolfgang Guillich, this simple device has been largely responsible for advances in climbing difficulty around the world.
Carabiner - n. (Karabiner UK) A metal ring with a spring-loaded gate used to attach the rope to protection, rope and many other things.
Cave - n. A roof enclosed on two sides usually offering deep ceiling features such a jugs (Buckets U.S.) or large holds.
Chalk - n. white powdered drying agent used to keep a climbers hands dry and give a better traction and grip between the skin and rock. Sometimes called "white courage" 2. (vb.) to apply chalk to hands.
Chalk Bag - n. A small bag with a stiff rim worn clipped to the harness or around the waist on a belt and used to hold chalk. Allows the climber to access chalk while climbing. Often worn at the lower back away from gear etc.
Chalk Up - v. Putting chalk on the hands before or while on a climb. Chalking up is also a psychological process giving the climber a positive mental aspect.
Chausey - Poor rock condition due to wear, water, slime, erosion or over chalked holds. Also spelled chossy.
Cheese grater - to cheese grate - To slide down a slab while scraping the knees, hands, face, genitals, mobile phone and of course a reddo10 climbing shirt.
Chest harness - Bra-like looking harness (to be used with waist harness). Often seen used by Mountain rescue teams.
Chicken Wing - n. A type of arm bar useful in off widths and tight chimneys. Bend arm at elbow so that hand touches shoulder. Insert in crack and push against opposite sides. Works especially well vertically in squeeze chimneys, with elbow pointing up and pressing against one side of chimney, and heel of hand against the other side. 2.(v.) To Chicken Wing: bad climbing form on a face climb where the climber's elbows point out and back at an awkward angle.
Chickhead - n. A knobby natural rock feature (resembling a chicken's head) found in granite which provides excellent holds for hands or feet.
Chimed – Very tired or exhausted. "I was chimed halfway up the ascent so I bailed."
Chimney - n. a parallel sided constriction wider than body width resembling the inside of an open fire chimney. Usually climbed with the back and legs – i.e. the back is pressed flat against one wall and the legs pushed against the opposite facing wall and the climber in a sitting position. The body is then shuffled up. 2. (vb.) to climb a chimney.
Chipping - n. the act of altering the rock face by breaking it. Only idiots do this. Almost universally shunned by climbers, but still performed by those whose technical experience, physical strength and egos are not up to the challenge of the route.
Chipped hold - A hold created with a hammer and chisel by a moron incapable of doing the climb as it is.
Chock - n. A generic term for all passive protection that can be wedged into a crack or slot in the rock, i.e., wired nuts, slung nuts, hexes, stoppers, wedges, etc. . .
Chockstone - A stone wedged between a crack, a chimney, etc.
Choss - n. loose or poor quality rock due to erosion, slime or over chalked. Also spelt Chauss.
Chossy - adj. like choss.
Chute - A very steep gully. The word chute is French for fall and refers to the rockfall that is very common in a chute.
Cirque - A deep and steep-walled basin on a mountain usually forming the blunt end of a valley. From the French word for circus. Also known as corrie.
Class - A number designating the overall technical level of a route. Can be a number and a letter together as in the British and French class system or just a decimal number in the Yosemite scale. See the climb grading page.
Class 1 - n./adj. (Archaic. Almost never used.) AKA First Class. Denotes walking where no special footwear is required. One of six classes describing travel in the mountains.
Class 2 - n./adj. (Archaic. Almost never used.) AKA Second Class. Denotes trail walking where it is advisable to have boots or other sturdy footwear. One of six classes describing travel in the mountains.
Class 3 - n./adj. AKA Third Class. Denotes scrambling involving the use of the hands as well as the feet, but where a rope is not needed. More commonly used to describe climbing without a rope, especially when the climbers have a rope.
Class 4 - n./adj. AKA Fourth Class, like Class 3, requiring use of hands as well as feet, sometimes referred to as scrambling, but where a rope is advisable because a fall would likely result in serious injury or death. Class 4 is a step below technical rock climbing (Class 5), which involves more difficult climbing and requires the use of protection devices. For a rock climber to describe something as fourth class usually means that it is easy.
Class 5 - n./adj. AKA Fifth Class. Technical rock climbing requiring the use of rope and protection, and where only one climber moves at a time while belayed by another climber. This is why the Yosemite Decimal System starts at 5.0.
Class 6 - n./adj. (Archaic. Almost never used.) AKA Sixth Class. Direct aid. When the Yosemite Decimal System was first devised, free climbs were rated from 5.0 to 5.9, and the next rating up was 6.0, the point at which you had to hang on the rope. The decimal system never caught on for aid. (See aid ratings.)
Clean - v. 1. v To remove protection devices (gear) usually on the descent. On a multipitch climb, the climber who seconds (follows the leader), takes out all of the removable gear placed by the leader on their ascent 2. adj. A clean climb, or a climb that “goes clean” is one that can be done without using a hammer to pound in pitons or mashies. This method is called clean because it does not damage the rock. (See pin scars.)
Cleaning Tool - n. A metal tool used in the extraction of protection that has become stuck in the rock. Such as the Metolius Extractor™
Cliff - A vertical piece of rock often rich in features and routes and good for climbing (see also Crag).
Cliffhanger – A laughable film with Sylvester Stallone but more importantly the name for a small hooking device used to aid climb up small edges and pockets.
Climbing wall - The British word for a climbing gym.
"Climb when ready" - The British equivalent of "Belay on".
Clipping - v. The act of putting a Karabiner onto a bolt, the rope, or a piece of protection. 'Clipping!' is a common call to indicate to the belayer that you are about to pull up rope to make a clip and indicates the belayer to give you some slack.
“Clipping in” – v. same as above. Often an expression given when clipping – “I was clipping in when I heard someone shout “Below.”
Clove Hitch - n. Knot often used to tie a rope to a Karabiner.
Col - A steep, high mountain pass. (French origin).
Coombe - Welsh word for corrie or cirque. Also spelled cwm.
Cord - Thin static rope (5, 5.5 or 6 mm) Sometimes used as a lanyard for tying protection to a gear loop on a harness and often used by boulderers not wanting to wear a harness but needing to tie a chalk bag around their waists.
Corner - Inside corner (see dihedral) or outside corner. In the UK, a corner is always an inside one.
Corn snow - Unconsolidated granular snow that has gone through a short freeze-and-thaw process. This type of snow is prevalent throughout the High Sierra in April and May.
Corrie - Other word for cirque. Spelled coire in Scotland and coombe or cwm in Wales.
Couloir - A steep gully which may have snow or ice in the bottom of it.
Copperhead - n. Aid device made of a malleable copper alloy and slung on swaged wire cable, used to hammer into shallow grooves and slots in the rock. When pounded with a hammer and chisel, they deform to fit the shape of the rock. These are typically left fixed because they are difficult to remove without damaging the rock or the device.
Crack - n. An inwards split or break in a rock face used as a finger hold or a space to fit protection such as a cam etc when ascending the rock face.
Crack climbing - n. Process of climbing continuous cracks, often deep cracks in the rock and requiring climbing techniques such as laying back. Specific protection is often used such as cams.
Crampons - n. A metal or carbon fibre device which attaches to the soles of climbing boots to allow a firm grip on snow or ice. Often used by Mountaineers in areas of extreme ice and snow packing. Used when ice climbing as due to the spikes at the front of the toe which can be kicked into the ice to give a hold.
Crank - v. Slang term for pulling on a hold at your maximum power.
Crank it - v. To pull on a hold at maximum power as a prelude to either a dyno move or griping a hold with one hand whilst trying to clip into an awkward or hard to reach bolt.
Crater - vb. to fall off a climb and hit the ground – hence leaving a crater. Without adequate protection or crash pads can result in serious injury or death.
Crest - The very top of a ridge or arete.
Crimp - vb. to grip in a way such that fingertips contact the hold with knuckles raised slightly. In the UK it is used instead of crimper as a term for a small hold. A great deal of pressure is put through the finger tips. A technical climb that requires the climber to crimp a lot on micro holds etc can quick cause the forearms and wrists to pump out.
Crimper - n. a small edged hold which is conducive to crimping.
Cross Threaded - adj. The process of misaligning the threading on equipment such as a Karabiner. Often due to dirt being in the thread. Usually results in the Karabiner being locked solid and will neither unscrew or screw further.
Cross through - n. a reach with hand or foot that crosses the line of the other appendage. Can often give rise to barn-dooring!
Crux - n. The main technical problem in a route or the reason why the climb is graded. The crux or cruxes usually require problem solving and good technical climbing skills. The greater the crux is usually indicated in a higher grading.
Cruxy - v. A climb is said to be cruxy if it has several difficult technical sections within the route. Usually a higher grade of climb.
