A lock-off is a technique where you pull a hold in toward your body and hold your bent arm in a static, locked position, freeing the other hand to reach the next hold. Locking off requires pulling strength and good body position, and lets climbers make controlled, static moves instead of dynamic ones.
The master point is the single, strong, central point of a climbing anchor where all the individual pieces are brought together and equalized. The belay device, the climber's tether, and the rope all clip into the master point, keeping the anchor simple, redundant, and easy to check. It is also called the power point.
A ground fall, also called 'decking', is when a climber falls all the way to the ground — the most dangerous kind of climbing fall. The risk is highest low on a route before much protection is placed, and when there's excess slack in the system. Avoiding ground falls drives many belaying and protection habits, like clipping early and spotting boulderers.
A runout describes a long stretch of climbing between pieces of protection, where a fall would be long because the last bolt or piece of gear is far below. 'Runout' routes are bold and committing, demanding confidence that you won't fall, and a route's runout sections contribute to its seriousness beyond its technical grade.
Z-clipping is a lead-climbing error where the climber accidentally pulls up rope from below the previous quickdraw to clip the next bolt, creating a 'Z' shape in the rope. It dramatically increases rope drag, can pull the climber off balance, and means the new clip provides little protection. The fix is to clip rope coming from above the last draw.
A soft catch is a belaying technique where the belayer adds a little slack or jumps slightly as they catch a leader's fall, letting their body absorb some energy so the climber stops more gently. It reduces the jarring force of a fall, protecting the climber and the gear, and is a hallmark of attentive lead belaying.
An aggressive climbing shoe has a strongly downturned (cambered) shape and an asymmetric toe that concentrate power onto the big toe, making it excel on steep, overhanging rock and small holds. The trade-off is comfort: aggressive shoes are tight and not designed for long days or beginners.
A figure-eight device is a metal '8'-shaped descender used mainly for rappelling, where the rope threads through the large ring to create friction. Once common for belaying too, it is now largely a rappel and rescue tool, valued for dissipating heat on long descents but prone to twisting the rope.
A plaquette is a tube-style belay device with extra slots that allow 'guide mode' — belaying one or two following climbers directly off the anchor, with the device automatically locking if a follower falls. This makes plaquettes the standard choice for multi-pitch climbing, where they free the leader's hands at the belay.
A nut tool is a thin, flat metal pick used to remove stuck protection — nuts, hexes, and sometimes cams — that have wedged tight after being weighted. The following climber uses it to free the gear by poking and prying it loose, and it doubles for cleaning dirt and moss from cracks.