In recent years rock climbing gyms and public walls have been popping up in cities across the world—it’s time we face how popular climbing has become. Even in a pandemic climbers are finding urban climbing spots in cities like NYC & Boston. And while the growth is great for the industry, it means an influx of enthusiastic and often clueless climbers.
The very uniqueness of the culture that draws people to the sport can itself be a daunting barrier to overcome as a beginner—a whole new language has to be learned in order to seamlessly communicate within the climbing community. In short, for newbies, deciphering what the hell anyone is talking about at the crag or the gym can be a real challenge.
Learning the lingo is the first step that any prospective climber should take. To help you avoid sounding like a total kook, we’ve gone ahead and outlined 45 essential climbing terms you need to know before you get in too deep.