free-climbingn.
/ˈfriːˌklʌɪmɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈfriˌklaɪmɪŋ/ Mountaineering and Rock Climbing.
The action or practice of climbing without using artificial aids, such as pegs or etriers, but usually with ropes or other safety equipment.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > mountaineering or climbing > [noun] > actions
glissading1832
rock climb1861
glissade1862
traversea1877
step cutting1884
hand traverse1897
conquest1902
bouldering1920
lay-back1925
soloing1929
hand-jamming1937
safing1937
rappelling1938
leading through1945
pendulum1945
free-climbing1946
laybacking1955
pendule1957
finger jam1959
jumar1966
jam1967
prusiking1968
jumaring1971
free solo1977
redpoint1986
mantel1987
crimping1990
1946 Small Unit Actions (U.S. War Dept.) 14 When two Rangers, best of the group at free-climbing, tried to work up the smashed cliff face without ropes, they were balked by the slippery clay surface.
1956 R. C. Evans On Climbing iii. 53 Artificial climbing only starts when the hardest of free climbing has failed to force a way.
1966 S. Styles Found. Climbing ii. iii. 45 We are still speaking of free-climbing—reliance on your own boots and fingertips.
1977 A. Russell Adventures with Wild Animals 114 Every handhold and foothold was carefully tested, and following an old rule of free-climbing, one hand and one foot were always well anchored for every move.
1995 Economist 11 Mar. 142/3 For the present, however, outdoor free-climbing remains a liberating and unconventional activity.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1946