Small steep-sided channel of sea, the sides of which often provide climbing. Primary use is to get climbers wet by turning small waves into big ones and projecting them upwards. For added amusement, i [..]

A piece of equipment which you use to control the rope when belaying. Belay devices include "belay tubes" (many brands), the Figure eight, the Gri-gri, and the Sticht plate.

To descend a rope using a descender or maybe with just the rope round your body (a classic abseil). Potentially lethal; the cause of more deaths than actually climbing upwards. Often abbreviated to AB [..]

What the British regard as normal and the French generally see as idiotique: anything traditional2, scary or otherwise likely to result in broken and shattered bits. What we love. [Dave Sheffield]

Climbing using gear for resting or making progress. Covers everything from a brief rest on the rope on an otherwise traditional1 ascent to bolt ladders and étriers.

Getting up earlier than about 5 am. So-called because climbers in the Alps tend to start early to avoid the queues or melting snow or simply because sleeping in a dormitory full of snoring Germans is [..]

An outward pointing bit of rock; a ridge or rib. Not to be confused with a corner.

An outward pointing bit of rock; a ridge or rib. Not to be confused with a corner.

A device for climbing the rope when all else fails, or even, occasionally, by design. May be a simple prusik or more or less sophisticated mechanical device. [Mike Swann]

A technique for climbing chimneys where you put your back on one wall and push your feet against the opposite wall.