A pocket is a hole or recess in a climbing hold that fits only one, two, or three fingers, requiring precise placement and finger strength. Pockets are common on limestone and on moulded gym holds, and the number of usable fingers — a one-finger pocket is a 'mono' — defines how hard it is and how much it stresses the tendons.
The Ewbank system is an open-ended climbing grade scale using a single number — 1, 12, 25, 35 and upward — used in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. A higher number means harder, with no letters or pluses. It rates a route's overall difficulty and converts approximately to YDS and French grades.
The Font grade, from Fontainebleau in France, is the European system for grading bouldering difficulty, written as a number plus an uppercase letter and optional plus — 6A, 7B+, 8C — with the capital letters distinguishing it from French route grades. It is the main bouldering scale outside North America, where the V-scale dominates.
The munter hitch, or Italian hitch, is a friction hitch tied directly on a locking carabiner that can belay or lower a climber without a belay device. It works by feeding rope through a reversing hitch, making it the standard backup if a device is dropped. Its main drawback is that it tends to twist the rope.
The double fisherman's knot, or grapevine, joins two rope or cord ends by tying two interlocking double overhand knots. It's compact, very secure, and hard to untie after loading, which makes it the standard for tying prusik loops and cordelettes and a reliable — if stubborn — way to join rappel ropes.
The autoblock, or French prusik, is a friction hitch wrapped around the rope and clipped back to itself, used mainly as a rappel backup. Unlike a prusik it releases easily under load and slides one-handed, so a rappeller can tend it as they descend and have it grab the rope if they let go of the brake.
The klemheist is a friction hitch, similar to a prusik, tied with cord or webbing around a rope so it grips when loaded and slides when relaxed. Unlike the prusik it is directional — gripping only when pulled one way — and it slides more easily, making it useful for ascending a rope and as a rappel backup.
The flat overhand bend, often nicknamed the European Death Knot (EDK) despite being safe when tied correctly, joins two rappel ropes with a simple overhand knot in both strands. Its flat profile lets it slide over edges and roofs without snagging, making it the preferred knot for joining rappel ropes — provided the tails are left long.
The alpine butterfly is a knot that puts a secure, load-bearing loop in the middle of a rope without needing the ends. Climbers use it to isolate a damaged section of rope, to tie into the middle of a rope on a glacier team, and to clip a third climber into the system. It can be loaded in any direction.
The water knot, or ring bend, is the standard knot for joining the ends of flat webbing into a sling or runner. It's a retraced overhand knot that holds well in webbing, where many other knots slip. The tails must be left long and the knot checked regularly, since water knots can slowly creep loose over time.