So I just read something on the inter web, I thought I would write a codex for people that don’t live their live fully submerged in climbing, especially around north wales. Some of the sayings I think are some Caffism’s, as I am sure I heard them come from him first. Although maybe he caught them from somewhere else. Anyway below are a few climberism’s from the modern lexicon of ascent. If you have anymore climberism’s please comment below and I’ll add them to the post.
Techers – pron. Tech-urs – A piece of climbing that is more technical then physically challenging.
Strennie – pron. Stre-knee – A section of or whole pitch of climbing that is strenuous and physical rather than techers.
Rinsed – How one feels after several strennie routes, like having all your strength wrung out of you muslces.
Smash it in – To successfully ascend a route or boulder problem. Similar to the old school term of ‘sending’ a route.
Crush – In order to smash a route you need to be able to crush. You crushing ability helps greatly with routes that are particularly strennie.
Lob – To fall off whilst climbing
Airtime – Not a media savvy climber making it onto the One show but a fall that last longer than an lob.
Air miles – Either a persistent lobber or someone racking up considerable airtime can be seen as collecting their air miles.
Ledge Shuffle – Either easy climbing or what generally happens at trad venues like Gogarth. e.g. Red Walls is a classic ledge shuffling venue.
Power Screach – Like a power scream but at a higher pitch, whilst often associated with the female climbers it is more often observed in males whose voices is part way through breaking.
Gritterly – Not as is commonly believed a way to say that the route is short and insignificant. But a gritty and crumbly hold often associated with poor rock.
Flash – Some kind of ascent below the on-sight, but still suitably quick and impressive. No one is quite sure what it is exactly and the definition can change both within and between regions. Alternatively a well appointed climbing trustafarian.
Schmee – pron. – Sssh-meeee – A word often used by Martin Crook to describe something no one knows quite what it is but it is definitely something.
Choss – A route made up almost entirely of grittily holds, or similar in structure to Craig Dorys.
Retro-pinkpoint – An ascent that is not a flash or a red point but something else entirely less impressive. Often with gear in situ, clip chains and months of pre-practice, often done years after the climber first did the route, and all manner of underhand tactics are used in order to bring the route down to the climbers current level.