Rappelling vs Abseiling – What’s the Difference?

Trying to memorize all the different climbing terms can sometimes feel like trying to learn a new language. I’ve always heard rappelling and abseiling used interchangeably, but I wanted to know a little bit more about the words, so I did some research on the subject.

So what’s the difference between rappelling and abseiling? Rappelling and abseiling are the same thing; both activities involve lowering yourself in a controlled descent via a piece of rope. The main difference between the two terms involves their usage and history.

Rappelling and abseiling both mean to use a piece of rope or cord, combined with some kind of control device, to lower yourself down. Anyone experience in the lingo of climbing will recognize both terms for what they mean. Rappelling is the term most often heard in North American, whereas abseiling is commonplace in the UK and other European countries. I was curious about the origins of the words and why they’re different, so I did some searching on the history of climbing and summarized what I found below.

Geographical Differences

As I said above, the only real difference between the two words are their varying popularity in different parts of the world.

In the US and Canada, the term rappelling is used almost exclusively, although any experienced climber will recognize the word abseiling for what it is. In the UK and Europe— specifically Germany— abseiling is the go-to when describing someone lowering themselves via a piece of rope.

In other places, however, the distinction becomes less apparent. In Australia, New Zealand, and France, for example, the two are used almost almost interchangeably. Most English written climbing books use the term rappelling, but a fair chunk of them still use abseiling.

All in all, don’t stress too much about which version of the word you’re going to use. The important part is that you know what you’re doing; as long as you’ve got proper form, no one will care too much about what you decide to call it.

Linguistic Heritage

Both words have European heritage, which makes sense because that’s where mountain climbing was first practiced. To abseil originally comes from the German word abseilen, which literally means ‘to lower on a rope’. The term was likely used during the early days of mountaineering, which experienced its birth in Europe during the 1800’s.

Rappel, as stated above, is a French word. Curiously, rappel doesn’t have the same literal definition as its German counterpart. Instead (according to Google translate), to rappel means to recall or withdraw. I would guess that rappelling was then used to describe the act of lowering ones self off of a mountain, which could be seen as ‘withdrawing’ yourself from a climb.

The definitions, however, don’t help to explain why one word is more common that another depending on what area of the world you’re in. To find out why this happened, I’ve written a brief history on mountain climbing below, along with my hypothesis as to why the two words exist.

Mountaineering: Where it all Started

The act of ascending a mountain or cliff face didn’t really exist in ancient times. Mountains were viewed as dangerous, sometimes sacred places, who’s summits often went untouched for thousands of years. Many cultures, such as the Greeks, believed that the tops of mountains belonged to gods or other heavenly beings. Consequently, those living in these societies steered well clear of those summits.

That started to change around the 1500’s, when the enlightenment took over Europe and secularity started to become more common in society. In 1786, two climbers names Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Pacard made the first ascent of Mount Blanc (the highest mountain in the Alps). To this day, this stands as perhaps the most important moment in mountain climbing history.

Over the next two hundred years, mountain climbing— sometimes called mountaineering or alpinism— took off in Europe. Famous mountains like The Eiger and The Matterhorn were summited, government grants were given, and Alpinism societies started to keep formal registered of which peaks were being climbed. The fervour spread outwards, towards distant ranges such as the Himalayas and the Andes.

It was in this heyday of mountaineering that rappelling was first invented. The first person ever credited with the act of abseiling— as far as I could find— was Jean Charlet-Straton, a Chamonix mountain guide who lived from 1840-1925. In the late 1870’s, Charlet-Straton made several attempts at the un-summited peak of Petit Dru, finally reaching the top in 1879. It was on these expeditions that Charlet-Straton perfected the technique of lowering himself via rope, a skill that would soon become commonplace amongst alpinists.

It would make sense to me that in this early period, the word abseiling was used as a literal definition of what Charlet-Straton was doing. In fact, until 1944, there was no recorded use of the word ‘rappel’ to describe anything mountaineering related. Roger Frischon-Roche was the allegedly the first person to describe what Charlet-Straton invented as ‘rappelling’, although I’ll admit that my source for this is not the most reliable.

So when did the word rappelling gain popularity? Why was it used at all, when abseiling was such a literal definition? To know that, we first have to take a look at what was going on across the Atlantic ocean when mountaineering was taking off in Europe.

Climbing in America: A Cultural Revolution

While mountaineering continued to flourish in Europe, reaching its peak in 1953 when Sir Edmund Hillary summited Mount Everest, climbing in America took a very different route.

Born out of a cultural rebellion and a tiny campsite in Yosemite Valley, the act of rock climbing— scaling sheer vertical walls through the use of one’s fingertips and toes— wold soon take over the country. Pioneered by legends like Royal Robbins, Warren Harding, and Jim Bridwell, climbing existed on the fringes of society for many years before finally gaining mainstream attraction in the ’80’s.

Rock climbing, in its early days, lacked much of the prestige that mountaineering did. While top mountaineers received government funding, long expeditions, and social recognition, climbing was viewed as a fringe activity. Because of this, the sport took on a rebellious nature; climbers rejected the posh and pomp that they viewed as surrounding European Alpinism, choosing instead to create their own sport— and a whole new language to go along with it. Cracking, stemming, free climbing, beta, dyno… the list of climbing terms goes on and on.

The Divide

There’s no hard proof of this, but I would venture to guess that this cultural rift is what caused language differences between the two parties. Many mountaineers viewed rock climbing as more of a hobby, and one that should be approached with the utmost discipline. They looked down on many hardcore rock climbers, who used the sport as an adrenaline-filled escape. In response, many climbers viewed mountaineers as pretentious and stuck-up.

It would make sense to me that this is where the two terms would start to differ. Climbers in America were forced to rappel constantly, lowering themselves from the massive cliff walls of Yosemite Valley and other historic climbing locations. Mountaineers use rappelling less often, but it is still an important part of an alpinists’ skillset.

I would put forth the theory that the confusion between rappelling and abseiling is mostly down the geographical distances and cultural divide. With two distinct activities being practiced in different parts of the world, and with such a cultural difference existing, it makes sense for different terminology to emerge. As part of their rejection of mountaineering and its pompous attitude, climbers forfeited the language of abseiling, choosing instead to use the much more recently coined ‘rappel’ to describe what they were doing.

So there you have it! There was a lot of research involved, and I had to make a few assumptions along the way, but that’s my conclusion as to why some parts of the world use abseiling, while others use rappelling. As I said above, your choice of terminology really comes down to personal preference.