Verglas is a thin, often nearly invisible coating of ice that forms on rock when rain or melting snow freezes onto a cold surface. It makes rock treacherously slick and is too thin to climb on with tools, turning easy terrain into a serious hazard. Verglas is a notorious feature of alpine and winter conditions.
An objective hazard is a danger in the mountains that exists independently of the climber's skill — such as rockfall, avalanches, serac collapse, crevasses, and storms. Unlike subjective hazards (errors you control), objective hazards can only be avoided or minimized through route choice, timing, and judgment, not skill alone.
In mountaineering, exposure usually means the degree to which a position has a big drop below it — exposed terrain has serious fall consequences even when the moves aren't hard, demanding composure. 'Exposure' is also used for the body's dangerous exposure to cold and weather, which can lead to hypothermia.
A whiteout is a weather condition in which falling or blowing snow and flat light erase all visual contrast, so the ground, horizon, and sky blend into uniform white. Hikers and mountaineers can lose all sense of direction and slope, making navigation by map, compass, and GPS essential and travel hazardous.
Strap-on (universal) crampons attach with flexible straps and a toe cradle, fitting almost any footwear including flexible boots and even some trail shoes. They are the most versatile and beginner-friendly crampons for glacier travel and general mountaineering, trading some precision and security for broad compatibility.
Step-in (automatic) crampons attach with a wire toe bail and a heel lever, clipping on like a ski binding. They give the most secure, precise fit but require stiff boots with both a toe and a heel welt. They are the standard for technical ice and steep mountaineering on fully rigid B3 boots.
Monopoint crampons have a single central front point instead of the usual two, giving precision on thin ice, small rock edges, and mixed terrain. Favoured by ice and mixed climbers for their accuracy and ability to slot into small placements, they are less stable than dual-points on lower-angle snow.
An ice tool is a short, curved-shaft technical axe designed for climbing steep ice and mixed terrain, used in pairs. Compared with a mountaineering ice axe, it has an aggressive, drooped pick and an ergonomic grip for swinging into vertical ice and hooking rock. Ice and mixed climbers carry two.
A jumar is a handled mechanical ascender used to climb a fixed rope, gripping when weighted and sliding up when pushed. 'Jumar' is a brand name turned generic, and ascending a rope this way is called 'jumaring' or 'jugging'. It's essential for big-wall aid climbing, expedition fixed ropes, and crevasse rescue.
A picket is a sturdy aluminium stake, typically 60-90 cm long, used to build snow anchors. It can be driven into firm snow at an angle or buried horizontally as a deadman in softer snow. Pickets are the workhorse snow-protection piece for steep snow climbing, crevasse rescue, and snow belays.