Like many words in the English language, particularly in the world of mountaineering, ‘etrier’ is borrowed from another mountaineering nation, in this case France, since etrier means a ladder, or more specifically a stirrup.

Jokes are often made about mountaineers needing ladders to climb rock faces – well it’s no joke, they actually use them. If a rock face proves to be unclimbable by normal means i.e. hands and feet, then a piton, bolt or something similar can be banged into the rock and the etrier clipped into it for use as a ladder. Repeat the process and away you go up the rock face.

This type of climbing is known as artificial climbing and was much in vogue in the latter part of the 1900s and while the ‘art’ is still practised, better forms of protection and much higher climbing standards have seen many former artificial climbs now climbed free.

This pair of etrier ( we’re told there’s no plural for the word) were used extensively by Mick Tighe in his early climbing career, in particular on an ascent of the Troll Wall in Norway in 1974.