Ever wonder what the heck I'm talking about when I'm tossing out terms like "coulior" and "belay"? Well, the short list of terms here ought to help!

A  B  C D  E  F  G  H  I  L  M  N  O  P  R  S  T  V

- A -

Adze
The flat cutting end of the ice axe head

Alcove
A belay ledge that is surrounded by vertical rock on all sides.

AMS
Acute mountain sickness, which is generally respitory in nature and caused by high altitude/thin air, Not too common in the 14ers, but possible. You'll hear more about this sort of thing in the Himalayas and similar altitudes. Only fatal if untreated...and the treatment is generally to descent to lower altitude. (Ask your medical doctor or check out WebMD or something for more info).

Anchor
Point where the rope is fixed to the rock.

Arete
A narrow (more or less - but often more less than more - horizontal) ridge.

Avalanche
Lots of snow or ice sliding down a mountain. There are many different kinds and the physics of avalanches is actually very complex, Some people spend a lifetime studying these things, just so we can be saferin the mountains.

- B -

Bail
To give up on a rock climb or a summit attempt.  Could be physical problems, bad weather coming in, anything. Also "abort".

Base camp
The lowest and largest fixed camp on a major ascent (or multiple ascents in the same area).

Beer
Alcoholic liquid consumed in large quantities after climbing. Tends to numb pain and cause exaggerations to tales of climbing.

Belay
To secure a climber.

'Biner
Short for 'carabiner'

Bivouac
Or short, bivi. An uncomfortable sleeping place in the middle of a route.

Boulder
A verb in this case (we all know as a noun, it's a big rock...duh!):climbing unroped on boulders or at the foot of climbs to a height where it is still safe to jump off (also bouldering).

Brain bucket
Aka helmet. That all important hard shelled thing that covers our most valuable asset. Well, most valuable for most of us.....

- C -

Cam
Generic reference to the family of spring loaded camming devices (SLCD) such as friends, camalots, aliens, TCUs, etc. Also refered to as springs.

Carabiner
Metal connecting device. This most essential climbing device is also known as a "biner"

Cheese grater
To slide down a slab while scraping the knees, hands, and face. Kind of like road rash, for you cyclists out there.

Chimney
A wide crack that accomodates (most of) the body of the climber.

Cirque
A deep and steep-walled basin on a mountain usually forming the blunt end of a valley. Sometimes referring to as a 'bowl'.

Class
A number designating the overal technical level of a route. The first number in the YDS designates the class of the climb. Here's the different classes

Cliff
A vertical piece of rock (see also Crag).

Col
A steep, high mountain pass.

Corn snow
Unconsolidated granular snow that has gone through a short freeze-and-thaw process. Generally soft and forgiving, and low on avalanche danger. Spring skiers hunt this stuff out religiously.

Couloir
A steep gully which may have snow or ice.

Crag
Name for a (small) climbing area.

Crampons
That very pointy footware use to walk glaciers or climb ice.

Crest
The very top of a ridge or arete.

Crevasse
A crack in the surface of a glacier.

- D -

Downclimbing
Descending the difficult way.

Dude
Generic name for a climber, as is "Hey, dude, how's the view at the summit?"

- E -

Edge
A sharp edge on a rock face, or the sharp corner of your skis/snowboard, depending on the context.

Epic
The story of a well planned climb that turned into a grueling adventure that turned out well in the end. As these stories are told over and over again - and they always are - the details get stretched to supernatural proportions for dramatic effect, sometimes due to Beer (see above).

- F -

Flail
To become very unsure and sketchy. When the flailing goes into frantic grabbing for holds, a fall is not far away.

Free climbing
Moving up a rock using only hands, feet, and natural holds. Ropes and pro are only used for protection of the climber and not for progression.

- G -

Glacier
A slowly moving permanent mass of ice. You don't see too many of these in Colorado, but they're quite common in the Pacific Northwest.

Grade
A number denoting the seriousness of a route.  Seems like every country has their own standard. For the US, see class.

Gully
A wide, shallow ravine on a mountainside.

- H -

Hurtin' unit
That member of the climbing team that is suffering, whether from fatigue, altitude, dehydration, or severe exposure to alcoholic beverages the night before.

- I -

Ice axe
All-pupose hammer-like device used for ice climbing, glacier crossing, or scaring away marmots.

- L -

Ledge
Flat bit on a rock (can be miniature or gigantic).

- M -

Mixed climbing
Climbing with a combination of different methods of ascent. e.g mixed free and aid climbing, mixed rock and ice climbing, etc.

- N -

Needle
Rock with a characteristic pointed shape. Also known as pinnacle, aiguille, gendarme, etc.

Notch
A small col, or break in a ridge or rock face.

- O -

Outside corner
Also known as pillar or arete.

Overhang
Rock (or ice) that is "more than vertical".

- P -

Pass
The lowest passage between two mountains. The mathematicians would call this the saddle point.

Pitch
A section of climb between two belays and no longer than the length of one rope (this used to mean 45m, nowadays pitches can also be 50 or even 60m long -- check your topo).

Pumped
The swollen feeling of overworked muscles. Most climbers are familiar with the forearm pump: too much finger work causes the forearms to swell and the strength to disappear. With a serious forearm pump, even holding a glass of beer can become a serious challenge.
 

- R -

Ramp
An ascending ledge.

Rappel, to
Also: to rap. Descending by sliding down a rope. Known in Britain (and Germany) as abseiling.

Rating
A number denoting the technical difficulty of the climb. Again, every country seems to have their own.  For the US, see the climb's class.

Ridge
The high divide extending out from a peak.

"Rock!"
Scream let out to warn people down below that a piece of rock has been overcome by gravity.

- S -

Saddle
A high pass that looks somewhat like the horsewear. Not quite as steep as a col.

Schwag
Terrible rock conditions, such as loose rock, crumbly strata, etc.

Scrambling
Easy climbing, usually unroped.

Scree
Loose rocks and stones that cover the slope below a cliff. Usually around gravel-sized or a bit larger. With every step, scree slides under your feet.

SH** !
Often heard during a fall!

Slab
Flat and seemingly featureless, not quite vertical piece of rock.

Soloing
Climbing alone, though not necessarily without the protection of a rope.

Summit
The top of a mountain or rock.

- T -

Talus
Middling to large blocks of rock. A coarse variation of scree.

Tarn
A small lake, usually above treeline and contained in some knd of rock depression.

Topo
Short for toporgraphic map. USGS topo maps are recommended for all hiking, clmbing, and other backcountry travel.   Good topos will allow you to spot the line right away, and for technical climbs, show the placement of bolts and belay stances, indicate where the crux is and what rating it has

- V -

Verglas
Thin water ice on rock.