Sentence:  There is always the option of clambering up slightly higher and building a new belay station (<WSD>stance</WSD>), take in the rope for a fellow climber, once again clamber up higher and once again build a new, higher <WSD>stance</WSD> … and so on until the rope reaches the stop where the upper end of the rope has become caught in the rock. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A foothold or ledge on which to set up a belay.