Super Angie...climbing lingo

I've had some friends ask about all the terms I use in my climbing posts, so I will attempt to explain things. :) Heres some basic stuff that I usually talk about:

Top Roping: this is when you have the rope attached already at the top of the route (this link is a pic of me climbing Top Rope at 2008 Nationals where I placed 3rd!). Its very safe and if you fall, you won't go far if your partner knows even just the basics. I'm not a big fan of climbing outside, but I will do it once in a while. Usually I have a blast after I get going. My kids are pretty good at top roping outside.

Belay: this is a French word that means, "To Hold". Basicly, you have a partner that holds onto one end of the rope. The other end of the rope is hooked into your harness. Your partner, or BELAYER, uses a belay device to hold you up. I use the ATC-XP from Black Diamond. 

Lead Climbing: this is where you are taking the rope up (like this picture of Emily Harrington from 2008 Nationals-she won!) with you and you clip the rope into bolts or other types of protection on the rock wall. If you fall and you are closer to the ground, you can actually fall all the way and hit the ground. I have fallen before and actually, falls from uphigh can be fun. I think my biggest fall was probably falling 15 feet! It was fun and very safe. But I know of people who have fallen from low (like clipping into the second bolt) and they have hit the ground. OUCH! I don't particularly like lead climbing. It scares me and makes me very tense. Other people though totally love it!

Ice Climbing: Climbing on ice--water falls, man made ice, alpine ice. You use ice tools (not ice axes or picks) and have crampons on your boots. I am in love with ice climbing. :)

Mixed Climbing: climbing areas that are partly ice and partly rock

Rock Climbing: duh...climbing rocks

Bouldering: Climbing small rocks without any ropes. If you fall, you usually have a friend spotting you and you have a pad to land on. I'm only comfortable bouldering something like 10 feet tall, but some people do stuff like 30 feet tall, or more. CRAZY! 

Indoor climbing: Using plastic holds on walls to simulate climbing outside. I LOVE "pulling plastic" ( a cute term that means climbing on plastic holds). I feel very comfortable climbing indoors because the routes are all laid out and there is no guess work like, "I don't know where to go next" or "I can't find a good hold". In my gym, all the routes are done in the same color. So when I say, "I did the purple route" or "the new green one is great"--its just what the color of the plastic is. 

Rock climbing routes are rated for difficulty. The Yosemite Decimal System. 

It actually starts at a 1 (I think), but thats like walking on a sidewalk--flat. So, in Rock climbing, its in the 5 range.

5.4 is the easiest one in the gym--what the kids do. (In our gym, the easiest route is a rainbow of colorful holds--some shaped like cowboy hats, some like animals etc. )

5.10 is considered intermediate

5.13 and above is considered expert.

Once you get to 5.10, you go 5.10a, 5.10b, 5.10c, 5.10d  and then 5.11a and so forth. Some routes are rated with a minus or a plus: 5.10plus.  This means, its unclear if its a "c" or a "d", but its a harder 5.10.

The hardest route ever climbed in the world is a 5.15 (not sure a b c or d).

I personally climb up to 5.11. Mostly feel comfortable on 5.10s.

Okay, I think that answers most questions...if I didn't cover something, let me know and I'll write more. Enjoy the links...some I put in there just for laughs. ENJOY!

--Super climber Angie