Mantling is a technique where you press down on a ledge or large hold with your hands — transitioning from pulling to pushing — to lever your body up and over it, much like climbing out of a swimming pool. It's the standard way to top out boulders and gain ledges.
Jamming is the core crack-climbing technique of wedging part of the body — fingers, hands, fists, or feet — into a crack and subtly expanding or torquing it to create a secure hold. Unlike face climbing, jamming uses the crack itself rather than holds on the rock surface.
A sloper is a smooth, rounded hold with no positive edge to grab, gripped instead through friction from an open hand and careful body positioning. Climbers maximise skin contact and keep their weight below the hold, making slopers as much about technique and tension as raw strength.
A prusik knot is a friction hitch tied with a thin loop of cord around a climbing rope. When weighted it grips the rope and holds; when the load is released it slides freely by hand. This lets climbers ascend a rope, back up a rappel, or build a hauling system for crevasse rescue.
A heel hook is a climbing technique where you place your heel on a hold and pull with your leg, using it almost like a third hand. It lets you take weight off your arms, stay close to the wall on steep terrain, and lock into position on overhangs, aretes, and around bulges.
A dyno, short for dynamic move, is a climbing move in which you spring off the wall to reach a hold too far away to grab statically. At full extension all four limbs may briefly leave the rock before your hands latch the target hold. It trades control for reach and is a signature move of modern bouldering.
A redpoint is a successful lead climb of a route from bottom to top without falling or resting on the rope, after having practiced it. It is the standard benchmark for 'sending' a hard route and contrasts with an onsight (no prior knowledge) and a flash (first try, but with beta).
Rappelling, also called abseiling, is the technique of descending a rope in a controlled way using friction from a belay or rappel device. Climbers use it to get down from routes and anchors. Because it depends entirely on the system being built correctly, rappelling is a leading cause of climbing accidents and demands rigorous checks.
A clove hitch is an adjustable friction knot that climbers tie directly onto a locking carabiner to attach themselves to an anchor. Its key advantage is that the length can be fine-tuned with one hand after tying, without untying the knot, making it the standard way to clip in at a belay station.