NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/rec/climbing/5048

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From: [e-mail] (Eugene N. Miya)
Subject: [l/m 6/22/92] Glossary (21/28)                r.cli FAQ
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Panel 21  -- Glossary

TABLE OF CONTENTS of this chain:

21/ Climbing glossary                < this panel >
22/
23/
24/
25/
26/
27/
28/
1/ DISCLAIMER
2/ Previous topics
3/
4/
5/
6/
7/ References
8/
9/
10/
11/
12/
13/
14/ In memoriam
15/
16/
17/
18/
19/
20/

Climbing Glossary
Needs lots of editing and restructuring

For your next trip to any rad sportclimbing area... Here's a brief
list of terms to allow you to converse freely with the species known
as the "sportclimber"!

(some of these were plagerized from the Sport Climbing Connection)

To put this matter to rest, definitions by John Long and Russ Walling
in John's excellent book "Face Climbing",
which recommended to all aspiring hard-persons:

Onsight Free Solo

    Angus MacGillicuddy has never been to Mt. Hogwash.
    Walking along the base, Angus spots a line of bolts
    up an overhanging schist intrusion.  He fancies the
    look of the route, laces up his boots, blows his nose,
    chalks up and gapes at several girls from the Swedish
    Sport Climbing Team, who are limbering up and changing
    into bright-colored tights.  Psyched, Angus winks, spits
    into his palms, then solos up the schist intrusion.

Free Solo

    Angus has been to Mt. Roughage several times.
    On two occasions, he's climbed The Watercloset,
    a difficult route that follows a basalt intrusion
    via chancy dynamics.  Angus has it in mind to solo
    The Watercloset.  Now at the base, he laces up, touches
    his toes, exhales hard, then solos the route.

Worked Solo

    Angus has been coming to Mt. Peatmoss for 11 years.
    He's lead Compost 50 times, toproped it 70 times,
    and, also on a toprope, has worked the crux bit over
    and over till he knows it better than the hair on his palms.
    Now he plans to `solo' Compost, an intricate razor job
    up a monzonite intrusion.  At the base, he flexes his guns,
    flexes his back, flexes his loins, jumps onto Compost and solos it
    in six minutes.

Onsight Flash or A Vue

1. a vue / onsight flash:  climb the route without any falls, without having
tried it before, without watching anybody do it, and without any special
knowledge (beta) on how to do the moves.

    Angus has never been to Mt. Basura.  One route, The Offal,
    takes a loose line up a steep albeit trashy intrusion.
    Angus racks up and leads The Offal straight off,
    placing all the gear.  He takes no falls, nor a single
    rest on the line.

Beta Flash

2. flash:  no falls, without having tried it before.  Usually with some
knowledge of the moves gained by watching people or instructions on how to
do the moves.

3. flash with running beta:  no falls, first try, but with somebody telling
you how to do the moves as you progress.

    This is Angus' first trip to Mt. Gismo.  At the local pub,
    Angus runs into Jack Nastyface, the local hardman.  Since
    Angus is buying, Jack describes down to the last pinky lock
    the sequence for climbing The Honest Indonesian, an improbable
    Mt. Gismo test piece following a sketchy dun intrusion.
    With the sequence memorized, Angus flashes the route
    the next afternoon.

Deja Vu

    It's been some years since Angus was last at Mt. Tallywhacker.
    He remembers trying the Chamfered Luby -- and failing miserably.
    The successive lunges along the scarlet intrusion notwithstanding,
    he remembers little about the route.  But Angus is a better climber
    than he was 7 years ago, and the next morning, he manhandles
    the Chamfered Luby on his `first' try.

(all three flash terms can be applied to a toprope ascent, but the terms
below apply only to leading)

Red Point

4. redpoint / rotpunkt:  lead with no preplaced gear (other than bolts or
normally fixed gear like pitons).  Usually this implies that it's not your
first try, falls were taken, etc., but no gear was left in place to assist the
lead.  Removing all the quickdraws (especially the top one) is often
time-consuming, so if others are waiting to do the route, pinkpoint style
(below) is often used (and some people inaccurately call it redpoint also)

    Angus has tried to climb The Widget on Mt. Sputnik for five
    years now.  He's aided it, toproped it, studied it from a helicopter,
    on jumars, with opera glasses.  Finally, he leads it, no falls,
    placing the gear as he goes.

Pink Point

5. pinkpoint:  lead with preplaced gear (usually quickdraws clipped to the
bolts).  The rope is not left in place after falls -- it is pulled through the
gear, which is reclipped on the next attempt.  Sometimes the quickdraws
are placed by other people and left in place for many weeks.

    Angus has been trying to climb The Bullwhip on Mt. Maplethorp
    for 10 years.  He's gotten close, and after hosing the Windgate
    intrusion with Gumout, squeegeeing it clean, then buffing
    each hold with 600-grit sand paper, he wants to try the lead once
    again.  But first, he raps down the route, places all the gear,
    then flashes the lead.

Yellow-Point - A no falls top-roped ascent, or

Yellow-Point - A climb where you were so scared you almost pee'd your pants.

Brown-Point - similar to Yellow-Point except for more severve consequences.
Brown Point

    Angus has never tried Intelligent Gas From Uranus on Mt. Bachar.
    He starts up the blank face between the two brown intrusions full
    of intentions to make a flash ascent.  Things go bad in a hurry,
    and Angus soon is hanging from the cord.  He's quickly on a toprope,
    pulling through the first two grim bits.  Later, stumped at the crux,
    he incorporates a side rope, one etrier and a `come along' belay.
    This makes Angus feel like he's got the strength of 10 men
    as he works out the crux.  Within hours, he stands on the summit,
    ready to rap down and place the gear for a `pink point'
    ascent the next day.

Other Techniques

6. yoyo / rotkreis:  preplaced gear; the rope is left clipped through [most of]
the gear after each lead attempt.

Other terms can be used to describe non-free ascents.  For example, hangdogging

    There are other procedures that Angus sometimes employs in
    his quest for the summit that are worth mentioning.  For instance,
    he's been known to `hangdog.'  That is, after he falls off
    his lead attempt, he won't hesitate to hang on the rope,
    rest, then carry on fully refreshed.

    When Angus first went to Mt. Pipedream, he didn't have time for
    too many shenanigans, but he did want to bag The Tiajuana Virgin,
    a nearly non-existent line of pockets along an ivory intrusion.
    To save time, he rapped down to the crux, worked it out on a toprope,
    then rapped to the deck and `red pointed' the route.
    Thus, Angus had `speed dogged' the route (also known as `greyhounding').

    At Mt. Cameltoe, Angus desperately wanted to scale The Man in the Boat,
    but first wanted the beta.  He sent his hapless buddy --
    Shawn O'Sean -- up to work out the moves, while he watched smugly
    from below.  Shawn was `seeing-eye dogging' for Angus, who was
    then set to try his Beta Flash.

    Also at Mt. Cameltoe, Angus took a liking to The Pipefitter.
    He did not, however, like the looks of the first bolt,
    which was 30 feet off the talus.  Angus needed a `coon dog'
    to go up and fetch him that first clip.  Shawn had already
    mounted The Pipefitter 69 times before, and gladly
    `coon dogged' for Angus.  He clipped the first bolt, lowered,
    then handed off the blunted sharp end for Rover to take over --
    in relative safety.

    Angus encountered a similar situation at Mt. Hamstring.
    The Rocky Mountain Oyster followed an overhanging intrusion,
    and the first bolt, way the hell up there, already had a quickdraw
    on it.  Nobody's fool, Angus took a long bight of rope, twirled it
    over his head like a lariat and hurled it at the in situ quickdraw.
    The bight of rope hit the dogleg carabiner at the gate and with a
    click!, Angus was clipped in!  He named this method the `rodeo clip.'

Rodeo-Clip - While hanging off of a bolt you pull up a bunch of rope and
flip it up to the quick draw clipping the rope through a biner.

    Angus certainly is not one, but he's known a few `dog's asses.'
    These are craven swine who cannot accept defeat and alter
    an existing route to make it easier for them to scale,
    placing additional bolts, chiseling holds, etc.
    Starvation, thirst and financial ruin to them all.

----------

Terms like redpoint are used to give additional details on what tactics
were used to free climb a route.  For example, was the route done first
try with no falls, or were several attempts/practices required?
The purpose is to shed some light on the
abilities of the climber (at least on that day); in contrast, the difficulty
of the route stays constant and is reflected in the rating.

involves practicing the moves of a climb and resting or aiding on the gear
instead of lowering to the ground or to a natural rest after each fall.


Of course the latter never happen on sport routes since they are always
so safe.  Gee wiz all those bolts nice and close together.

Dirt Me:   Lower me to the Ground.

Dog It:    Hanging by the rope to rest then finish the route.

Honed:     Excellent muscle definition... climbing well.
           "Dude you're Way honed!"

Heinous:   Either way hard or way bad.. "Oh man that's Heinous.." or
           "Oh man that's a heinous approach!"

Trad:      Traditionalist.

Whipper:   A long lead fall.

Pumped:    Forearms bulging.. visibly pronounced blood vessels.

Toasted:   Way past "pumped" take a rest day.

Peel:      To come off.. fall or slip.. "Watch me dude I'm gonna peel!"

Bagged:    Short for sandbagged.

Cheese:    Adjective for an easy route..  "That route was cheese!"

Auto Beta: When a belayer or observer starts giving you blow-by-blow
           descriptions of the route and how to climb it when you're already on
           it.   "Shut up man.. there you go into auto beta mode again!"

The Tree:  J-Tree national monument
The New:   New river Gorge
The Forks: Paradise Forks

Offwidth:  A crack too big to jam, too small to chimney.  See "Heinous"

Crater:    To fall and hit the gound.

Crater:    To take a fall to the ground; i.e. "He cratered."

Gush:       See Crater.

Essential
Rack:      A Daytimer and the keys to the Saab Turbo.

Perfect
Belay:     The front bumper of a Ford F150.

Pig:       The haul bag.

Squealing
Pig:       A heavy haul bag.

Cream of
Punishment: The tenth morning of Cream of Wheat..

Morning of
Discontent: Stormbound morning when the 'new' stove won't light.

Puke:       See offwidth.

Wank:       See hangdog.

Wanker:     One who engages in the practice of wanking.

Talus Food: A climber who has cratered.  See Crater.
    as in "...Dhude...blow that clip and you're talus food..."

Screamer:   A BIG whipper

See also Dave Roberts classic piece "Bad Day at Practice Rock".


Low-angle - Anything less than 95 degrees.

Run-out - The bolts are more than 5 feet apart.

Alpine route - Anything out of earshot of the car radio.

Committing - Used to describe a climb with the rap anchor more than 80 feet
off the ground, or one which does not have quickdraws already in place.

But seriously, what does "aggro" mean?  Or am I a cooler person for not
knowing?

-----
[Somewhat dated, English in bias, but still useful:]
Tom Patey's One Man's Mountain.

A Glossary of Commonly Used Climbing Terms and Phrases
    or
The TV Armchair Guide to Mountaineering

Climbing rope -- fulfills many functions, e.g., it may be used for lassoing
    projecting spikes, crossing impassible gorges or for pulling up
    climbers who have lost their nerve.
A solo climber -- One man falling alone.
A roped party -- Several men falling simultaneously.
Hemp (rope) -- A rope that breaks.
Nylon (rope) -- A rope that melts.
Ice-ax or "Pick" -- An implement for chopping holds in mud or soft rock.
Piton or "Spike" -- An implement for opening tin cans (various other uses).
Knife -- Indispensable.  Should be instantly attainable.  One of these saved
    several lives on the Matterhorn.
Snap-link -- A link that snaps.
Safety Helmet -- A safety  device for climbers falling head first.  If the fall
    is a long one, the climber may become completely impacted into his
    helmet and be telescoped into a small globular mass which can be
    stowed in a rucksack (cf. mountain rescue).
A Tiger's Web -- A hopeless tangle of rope or ropes.
A Pied d'Elephant -- A special short climbing boot for climbers who have all
    their toes amputated.
Leepers -- Small insects encounted on Welsh sea cliffs.
Krabs -- Another unusual hazard encountered on Welsh sea cliffs.
    (if this last hazard is considerable one, Lobster Claw Crampons
    are worn).
A Cow's Tail -- The fray end of an old climbing rope.
A Lay-Back -- An unusually confortable bivouac.
A Hand-Jam -- A climber with one hand caught in a crack.
A Foot-Jam -- A climber with one foot caught in a crack.
A Good-Jam -- A climber who is permanently struck in a crack.
A "Joe Brown" -- A climber with large hands who gets stuck in cracks.
Whillans -- An orange-coloured rucksack.
A Novice -- Someone (often dead) who should be kept off the mountains at
    all costs.
An experienced climber -- Someone whose death was unavoidable.
An Alpine Club Member (cf. Veteran) -- Someone who never dies but slowly
    fades away.
(Contrast:) An Alpine Veteran -- Someone who has been to the Alps.
Steeplejacks,

A careful climber -- A slow climber.
A cautious climber -- A very slow climber.
A climbing-nut -- A reckless climber.
A running belay -- A cowardly second.
A Thread belay -- An asphyxiated second (due to a slow third man and a very
    fast leader).
A Descendeur (French) -- A Term of derision.  The opposite of a climber.
A psychological belay -- (Alt. usage) (1) A female second; (2) Look like a
    belay but isn't...
A Classic Route -- Much loose rock and grass.
A Direttissima -- A very long free fall or "Plunge".
A long Run-out -- A very long arrested fall.
"One of Nature's Last Strongholds" or "The Last Great Problem" --
    A B.B.C. Outside Broadcasts Production.
Overhanging -- Vertical.
Vertical -- Steep.
Scrambling -- Fairly Steep.
Interesting -- Nerve-racking.
Thin -- Non-existent.
Amusing -- Die Laughing.
The Crux -- Where everyone else unties to watch the leader.
"Fissure" (French) -- A dirty, unpleasant crack.
Backing up, Straddling, Back and Knee, Back and Foot, Foot and Mouth --
    Various postures adopted in Chimneys (?Derivation -- Kama Sutra).
Considerable Exposure -- No Privacy.
Free climbing -- No charge for spectators.
A Rurp -- A strenous grunt.  A combination of a rift and a burp.
Abseiling -- Showing off, Pretending to Fall.
Committed (to the Route) -- Under Suspended Sentence of Death.
Peeling Off -- Undressing.


Climbing Calls (cf. Blackshaw -- The Penguin's Guide to Mountaineering)

"Tight Rope, Please" -- "HELP!!!"
"A Little Slack" -- "Lower away gently".
"Below" -- Leader announcing he is dropping a rock on his second's head
    (cf. Safety Helmets, Further Uses of).
Bong -- One hit.
Bong Bong -- Two hits.
Two tugs on the rope -- Second must be securely belayed from above before
    proceeding.  If two forcible tubs fail to dislodge the leader he
    may assure all is well.


Phrases which are frequently overhead on TV Mountaineering Broadcasts
(now explained)

"He seems to be experiencing some difficulty" -- "He is about to fall off".
"These chaps climb for Pleasure!" -- These men are very well paid.
"Master of ice glazed rock" -- Not very experienced on Welsh sea cliffs.