A ring or similar device capable of sliding along a strap, rod, etc., or through which something may be passed or drawn; (also in later use, chiefly…

= sense 17b.

(a) an axe for cutting through ice; spec. a tool used by mountaineers for cutting holds in ice; (b) an implement for cutting ice for commercial or…

A long iron-tipped staff used in hill and mountain climbing.

A length of thick strong cord, made by twisting together strands of hemp, sisal, Manila, cotton, nylon, wire, or other similar material, typically…

an iron strapped to the boot to assist in climbing (see climber, n. 4).

A two-headed ice axe used by mountaineers.

(a) (see quot. 1875); (b) = karabiner, n.

A climbing iron. Obsolete. rare.

Mountaineering. The middle climber of a team.

Mountaineering. A stone or rock wedged in a vertical cleft, esp. when used as a belay or hold; = chockstone n. at compounds; (now also) a metal…

a rope used in traversing glaciers, to attach the members of a party together, as a precaution against accidents.

Mountaineering. A metal peg or spike which is driven into rock or ice to support a rope or a climber.

Mountaineering. The length of rope required to climb a single pitch; a pitch (pitch, n.2 28) climbed by means of a single length of rope. Also in…

Nautical. The coiling of running ropes round pins, etc.; chiefly attributive, as in belaying-cleat, belaying-pin. Also in Mountaineering.

(a) (see quot. 1903); (b) = karabiner, n.

Mountaineering and Rock Climbing slang. Metal climbing aids as pitons, bolts, and karabiners.

A rope, cord, string; †a leash for dogs or for hawks. Chiefly Nautical or as short for clothesline, n., etc. Also applied with words prefixed to…

The proprietary name for a kind of climbing-boot nail with a serrated edge. (Now disused.)

(a) a metal claw for grappling and for lifting blocks of ice; (also) = ice anchor n. (now chiefly historical); (b) Mountaineering = crampon, n. 3.

Mountaineering. = piton, n. 2.

In mountaineering, rock climbing, etc., a short length of rope used to provide additional support for the body in abseiling or belaying.

a piton (piton, n. 2) used to assist climbing on ice.

(a) a small hammer for breaking ice to be used in drinks; (b) a hammer used to break or cut through ice, fix pitons, etc., esp. in Mountaineering.

A coupling device consisting of a metal oval or D-shaped link with a gate protected against accidental opening. Cf. krab, n.

= piton, n. 2.

a belay in which the rope or sling is passed through a hole in the rock before being secured again to the climber.

A nail, usually of soft iron, used in the soles of mountaineering boots to improve durability and grip.

a belaying system employing a series of anchors, each containing a karabiner through which a climbing rope may run freely, acting as a safeguard in…

a hammer designed for fixing and extracting pitons.

Mountaineering and Rock Climbing. A small flattened hook used to provide grip on a protrusion or lip of rock (esp. one on which other gear cannot be…

Originally: a short rope ladder with two or three wooden or metal rungs. Now usually: a climbing aid of webbed nylon consisting of a short series…

A padded sack used to protect the lower part of the body when sleeping outdoors in a bivouac.

a piton used as a running belay (see running belay n. at running, adj. compounds 3b).

A large piton in the form of a folded sheet of metal, used in wide cracks. Also reduplicated as bong-bong.

= karabiner, n.

A very small hatchet-shaped piton (piton, n. 2).

(a) any one of a number of screws attached to the sole of a shoe to prevent the wearer from slipping on ice; (b) an ice-elevator of which the…

Mountaineering. A metal (now usually aluminium) wedge with a wire or rope loop, which is inserted into a crack in a rock face to serve as a belay.

Chiefly Rock Climbing, Caving, etc. A rope fixed horizontally to enable a person to cross from one side of a physical feature to another; spec.…

A clip which when attached to a fixed rope automatically tightens when weight is applied and relaxes when it is removed, thus facilitating the…

(a) the blade of a knife; (b) something sharp or pointed; (c) in Mountaineering, a kind of piton (see quot. 1968); also attributive and in other…

Mountaineering. (See quot. 1968.)

= rock piton n.

A kind of piton hammer.

Used attributively of objects devised by Whillans for the assistance of climbers. a kind of peg hammer or piton.

Used attributively of objects devised by Whillans for the assistance of climbers. a harness designed for use by mountaineers climbing fixed ropes.