Speaking the Language of Rock Climbers

Climbing is one of those sports that has a devoted following. You are not sort of interested in it. You quickly become a fanatic. With this fanaticism comes a certain language of terms developed by climbers, a language you need to know. A bivouac is

   Climbing is one of those sports that has a devoted following. You are not sort of interested in it. You quickly become a fanatic. With this fanaticism comes a certain language of terms developed by climbers, a language you need to know.

A bivouac is one of those things you will only use when you become an advanced climber. It is a sleeping bad/tent that you use in the middle of a climb when night sets. It hands from the wall and is uncomfortable.

One of the pillars of rock climbing is the bolt. A bolt is pretty much what it sounds like. It is a piece of steel bolted into a rock and used as an anchor. Due to its strong hold on the rock, it is a very safe think to hook on to prevent long falls.

Rock climbing is obvious subject to the weather and the time you have to get out to a particular spot. Given our busy lives, it is little surprise indoor rock climbing has become huge. Climbing gyms offer indoor walls you can climb and work on your technique.

The next step down from a bolt is a camming device. The device is placed in cracks on the climbing surface. The modern version is spring loaded, so it snaps open in the space creating friction and a hold that can support a lot of weight.

If you are going to do some serious ice climbing, your feet are critical. You need to anchor yourself on the ice with your toes, and rigid crampons are the answer. They fit snugly over the bottom of your boot and have spiked toes that anchor into the ice.

Fugitive climbing refers to a climber that climbs lopsided. They tend to use either the left or right arm for all strength moves and wear out or injure the arm. Fugitive refers to the movie with Harrison Ford where the villain is a one-arm man.

Climbers often have some pretty nasty looking fingers. One reason is a finger technique used that is known as the crimp. The crimp is basically any hold where you transfer all weight to your fingers in the hold. It places a lot of stress on the tendons and joints.

The finger lock is a common, but advanced climbing technique. It is essentially the cramming of multiple fingers in a crack on the climbing surface to create a hold. One has to be careful not to get the fingers stuck in the crack, which can happen given your weight.

The next time someone asks you how many languages you speak, you can now add climbing to the list. Fortunately, this language is easy to learn. Even better, you don’t have to roll your Rs.

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