A roof is a section of rock that juts out horizontally, overhanging so severely that it runs parallel to the ground like a ceiling. Climbing a roof demands powerful, tension-heavy movement — heel and toe hooks, underclings, and core strength — to keep the body from swinging off, and pulling the lip is often the crux.
Alpine climbing is climbing in the high mountains, combining rock, snow, and ice over long, committing routes where speed, self-reliance, and mountain judgment matter as much as technical difficulty. It blends rock and ice climbing with mountaineering, often in remote terrain with serious objective hazards.
Mixed climbing combines ice and bare rock on the same route, climbed with ice tools and crampons — including 'dry-tooling' on rock. It bridges ice and rock climbing, is graded on the M scale, and lets climbers link icy and rocky sections of winter and alpine routes.
Face climbing is climbing the open face of the rock using holds on its surface — edges, crimps, slopers, pockets, and pinches — rather than cracks. It emphasizes footwork, balance, and reading sequences of holds, and is the most common style on bolted sport routes and indoor gym walls.
Crack climbing is the discipline of ascending cracks in the rock by jamming hands, fingers, feet, or the whole body into the fissure, rather than using holds on the rock's face. It spans sizes from thin finger cracks to body-swallowing offwidths and chimneys, and is a foundational skill for traditional climbing.
Deep-water soloing (DWS), also called psicobloc, is climbing without a rope above deep water, which acts as the only protection when you fall. It's done on sea cliffs and over pools, combining the freedom of soloing with a relatively safe landing — though falls from height onto water can still injure, so it carries real risk.
Aid climbing is a style where the climber makes upward progress by pulling on, standing in, or hanging from gear placed in the rock, rather than climbing the rock free. It's used on big walls and on blank or overhanging terrain too hard to free climb, relies on equipment like etriers (ladders), and is graded on an A or C scale.
Multi-pitch climbing is climbing a route longer than a single rope length, broken into sequential pitches the team ascends one at a time. At the top of each pitch the leader builds an anchor and belays the second up, then they swap gear and continue. It adds anchor-building, rope management, and commitment on top of the climbing itself.
A deadpoint is a controlled dynamic move where you reach a far hold at the brief, weightless apex of an upward motion — the point where you are momentarily neither rising nor falling. Unlike a full dyno, you keep at least one hand and your feet on the wall, making it a precise, efficient way to gain distance.
Stemming, also called bridging, is a technique where you press outward with opposing limbs against two surfaces — typically the two walls of a corner or chimney — using counter-pressure to stay in place without positive holds. It can be strenuous or restful, and lets climbers ascend dihedrals and wide features with little to grip.