Active protection is trad climbing gear with moving parts that grips the rock through a spring mechanism — chiefly spring-loaded camming devices (cams). It can protect parallel-sided and flaring cracks where passive gear won't hold, at the cost of more weight, expense, and maintenance. It contrasts with passive protection like nuts.
Passive protection is trad climbing gear with no moving parts that holds by wedging into a constriction in the rock — chiefly nuts and hexes. It is light, cheap, and durable, and works best where a crack pinches down. It contrasts with active protection like cams, which use a spring mechanism to grip.
Fall factor is a number describing the severity of a climbing fall, calculated as the distance fallen divided by the length of rope available to absorb it. It ranges from 0 to about 2 — higher factors mean harsher, higher-force falls. Because it depends on rope length, a short fall low on a pitch can be more severe than a longer one higher up.
An anchor is the system of connected points — bolts, removable gear, or natural features — that secures climbers to the rock for belaying, rappelling, or top-roping. A sound anchor is redundant, equalized, and strong enough to hold any expected load. Building reliable anchors is one of the most safety-critical skills in climbing.
A bolt is a permanent anchor point drilled and fixed into the rock, used in sport climbing for protection and at the tops of routes for anchors. A climber clips a quickdraw to the bolt's hanger and the rope to the draw. Bolts make hard climbing accessible, but where and whether they're placed is governed by local ethics and access rules.
A static rope is a low-stretch rope used for rappelling, ascending, hauling, and rigging, where stretch would be a disadvantage. Because it does not absorb fall energy, it must never be used to lead climb or take a top-rope fall on — that role belongs to dynamic rope. Static ropes are common in caving, canyoneering, and rescue.
A nut, also called a stopper or chock, is a passive piece of trad protection — a tapered metal wedge on a wire cable that a climber slots into a constriction in a crack so it jams when pulled downward. Nuts are light, cheap, and reliable in tapering cracks, forming the foundation of a traditional rack.
A cam, short for spring-loaded camming device (SLCD), is an active piece of climbing protection that a trad climber slots into a crack. Pulling a trigger retracts the spring-loaded lobes; releasing them lets the lobes expand to grip the crack walls. Cams place quickly and hold well in parallel-sided cracks where passive gear can't.
A dihedral is an inside corner where two rock faces meet at an angle, like the open pages of a book — also called a corner or open book. Climbers ascend dihedrals using opposing pressure between the two walls, with techniques such as stemming, laybacking, and jamming any crack in the corner.
An arete is a narrow, outward-facing edge or ridge of rock where two faces meet, often formed by glacial erosion. In climbing, aretes offer distinctive, frequently photogenic lines that require balance and techniques like laybacking and flagging to climb the edge itself rather than a face or crack.