Bouldering is full of jargon – every hold, grip, move has a name.  At Indirock we want to make climbing accessible to everyone. Whether you’re a complete beginning, a dabbler or a pro, we’re busting the jargon and making it easier for you to get climbing.

We have already looked at jargon beginning with A, and beginning with B. Next up, C is for…

CAVE 

Quite simply, a cave outdoors! Or an area created in indoor climbing which is so overhanging that you’re climbing on the ceiling.

CAMPUS BOARD 

Overhung board with thin (one joint or so) wooden holds; meant to be ascended without using the feet.

CORNER 

The inverse of an arête; like the crease of an open book.

CRACK

A crack in the rock face, or created through placement of holds/volumes indoors. Horizontal cracks are known as breaks; wide cracks may be offwidths or chimneys. A very thin crack that will not easily fit climbing gear into it is known as a seam.

CRAG

A Crag is any large expanse of rock.

CRIMP

A small hold onto which you can just get the ends of your fingers (or toes!).

CAMPUSING

Ascending a route (usually overhung) using only the hands, in the style of one training on a campus board. Usually used when showing off in a bouldering gym!

CHALKING UP 

Coating the hands with chalk, to help stop them slipping.

CHICKEN WING

A jamming technique in which the arm is bent and inserted into a crack elbow first with the palm pressed against one wall while the tricep/shoulder presses against the other. Similar to an arm bar.

CHUNKING

Breaking down a move or problem into small sections to figure out how to climb it.

CIRCUIT

Either a grouping of problems of similar difficulty (most common in Fontainebleau, France) or a long problem, often a loop, climbed on an indoor wall to train endurance.

COMPRESSION

A technique for climbing symmetrical features by placing a hand (or foot) on either side and pulling hard to hold the body in place.

CORE

The muscles of the stomach, lower back and legs. Indirock offers Workshops which focus on building core strength and utilizing this to improve your climbing techniques, check out our Courses page for more information. 

TO CRIMP

A powerful grip in which the second finger joint is bent sharply and the thumb presses onto the index finger.

CROSS THROUGH

A traversing move in which one hand reaches past (over or under) the other to reach the next hold.

CUTTING LOOSE 

When both feet swing off the rock and all the climber’s weight is taken by the hands.

CHEATING 

Climbing is really all about you and the wall. So if you climb something a different way to someone else or you “break the beta” – ie you think you’ve found an easier way to climb something than the routesetters intended – it’s not actually cheating. Not starting on the correct holds, using a hold of a different colour to complete a problem, or claiming you’ve “flashed” a problem when you haven’t, would all count as “cheating” but really the only person you’d be cheating is yourself!

CRUX 

The hardest move on a climbing problem or route.

Next up in our jargon busting series, find words beginning with D here…