How to Learn Ice Climbing Terms

Few sports can rival the adrenaline rush of ice climbing. However, you need not put your life at risk — or even leave your own home — to use ice climbing terms expertly and engage in climbing gear discussions with the most seasoned ice climbing veterans.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Learn Ice Climbing Terms for Various Kinds of Climbing Gear

1. Understand that all climbers wear helmets, which some call "bone buckets."
2. Be aware that all climbers use ice axes of various lengths, which have pointed bases and heads that include both a pick and an adze. The pick has a sharp point, and the adze is flat and broad.
3. Know that anchors are important for securing rope to the ice face. Climbers often use ice pitons as anchors, screwing them into the surface of the ice.
4. Understand that ropes run through carabiners, which can be of various sizes and shapes. Experienced climbers shorten the term to "biner."
5. Be aware that all climbers wear boots. On flatter surfaces, boots alone are sufficient. On steeper terrain, ice climbers attach crampons to their boots. The metal spikes on the crampons allow them to grip icy surfaces.

Learn Ice Climbing Terms to Describe Techniques

6. Realize that ice climbing on nearly vertical surfaces requires some expert techniques. Front pointing is one such technique. It involves kicking at the ice surface with crampon points and hacking into the ice face with two hand-held ice axes.
7. Know that when climbers attach themselves to their ice climbing ropes that is known as "tying in."
8. Understand the various terms for rope manipulation. In belaying, one ice climbing partner remains in a fixed position and keeps the other climbers safe by handling a system of ropes and anchors. Abseiling involves the use of fixed ropes in a descent.

Learn Ice Climbing Terms to Describe Ice Formations

9. Be aware that glaciers and their movement often create the kinds of ice formations common in ice climbing.
10. Know that a crevasse is a gap in the surface of a glacier formed when the glacier moves over uneven terrain. A crevasse can be any depth or width, and its true dimensions are often hidden by snowfall or ice, making it very treacherous.
11. Understand that the movement of a glacier against mountain snow can create a bergschrund, which is a crevasse between the glacier and the snow on a mountain face. Experienced climbers shorted this term to "schrund."
12. Know that an icefall is one of the most dangerous ice formations ice climbers can encounter. An icefall occurs when a glacier plummets down the side of a steep mountain, creating crevasses and sharp ice peaks.
13. Realize that a serac, or large block of ice, can often be perched at the edge of an icefall or on the side of a mountain. Shifting conditions in the ice can cause the serac to tumble down the mountainside unexpectedly.
14. Understand different kinds of ice. White ice, the best kind for climbing, forms when snow freezes, and it has many air bubbles. Blue ice is very dense, bluish in hue and has few air bubbles. Black ice, often found in shady areas of peaks, is one of the most difficult to climb.

Understand Rating Numbers

15. Know that rating numbers are important ice climbing terms. Ice is rated based on how difficult it is to climb.
16. Understand that the most common rating system is now the Canadian/French one, which assigns each climb two numbers—a Roman numeral and an Arabic number.
17. Be aware that the Roman numeral indicates the "seriousness" of the climb and includes such factors as the climb's distance from civilization, its length and the difficulty of its descent. The Roman numerals span from I to VI, with I being the least serious climb.
18. Know that the Arabic numeral refers to the difficulty of the hardest part of the climb. This number indicates the level of verticality and the quality of the ice at this difficult point. Using the Arabic numeral, a climber will decide how many axes to use during the climb. The Arabic numerals span from 2 to 6. A 2 climb requires the fewest axes.