Illustrated Reference · Built As We Climb

A Mountaineering
Field Guide

The terms, skills, and systems we keep needing to look up, on the trail, at the crag, or planning the next trip. Works offline once you've opened it with signal.

12 categories underway

39 terms

Mountain Features

The named anatomy of a glaciated peak: rock, ridge, snow, ice, and the route vocabulary that ties them together.

14 terms

Knots & Hitches

The core knots used in mountaineering and climbing, step by step.

8 terms

Anchors

Building and equalizing anchors that hold load on their own.

7 terms

Rope Systems

Belaying, rappelling, and the rope-management techniques that keep a party connected.

5 terms

Modes of Travel

How a party connects to the rope, chosen by the terrain underfoot rather than habit.

6 terms

Snow & Glacier Travel

Roped travel, self-arrest, crevasse rescue.

6 terms

Hazard Assessment

Rockfall, weather, altitude illness.

8 terms

Avalanche

Terrain ratings, snowpack tests, and rescue.

8 terms

First Aid & Survival

What to do once something has already gone wrong: treating injuries and cold, getting a party through an unplanned night out.

12 terms

Gear

The equipment a climber actually carries, piece by piece.

6 terms

Grading Systems

The rating systems you'll see in route descriptions, and how to read them.

11 quotes

Wisdom

Words worth carrying back down the mountain with you.