Learn Hardcore German: Vor dem Abhang bleiben wir kurz stehen und prüfen unsere Klettergurte. - Before the slope we stop briefly and check our climbing harnesses.

In this sentence, we are already at a place (we are standing before the slope, not moving to that position), so it answers wo? (where?) and takes the dative:

der Abhang (nominative, masculine)
des Abhangs (genitive)
dem Abhang (dative)
den Abhang (accusative)

So vor dem Abhang = in front of / before the slope (location, dative).

Why does the sentence start with Vor dem Abhang instead of Wir? Is this word order special?

German main clauses follow the verb‑second (V2) rule: the conjugated verb must be the second element in the sentence.

You can put something other than the subject in first position, for example a time or place phrase. Here, Vor dem Abhang is placed first for emphasis on location:

Vor dem Abhang (1st element)
bleiben (2nd element: verb)
wir (3rd element: subject) …

A neutral version with subject first is also correct:

Wir bleiben vor dem Abhang kurz stehen und prüfen unsere Klettergurte.

Both are grammatically fine; the original just emphasizes where this happens.

Why is it vor and not bevor? What is the difference?

vor is a preposition, used with a noun:

vor dem Abhang – before / in front of the slope
vor dem Essen – before the meal

bevor is a subordinating conjunction, used with a whole clause (subject + verb):

Bevor wir klettern, prüfen wir unsere Klettergurte.
(Before we climb, we check our harnesses.)

You cannot say Bevor dem Abhang because bevor cannot be followed directly by a noun phrase; it needs a full clause.

What exactly is going on with bleiben wir kurz stehen? Why is bleiben in the middle and stehen at the end?

German often splits verb phrases:

The conjugated verb (here bleiben) goes in 2nd position.
The non‑conjugated part (here stehen) goes to the end of the clause.

The verb here is effectively stehen bleiben = to stop (literally: to remain standing).

So the structure is:

Vor dem Abhang (1st)
bleiben (2nd: conjugated verb)
wir (subject)
kurz (adverb)
stehen (final part of the verb phrase)

Infinitive: stehen bleiben (often written stehenbleiben). In finite main clauses, the two parts separate.

What is the difference between stehen bleiben and verbs like anhalten or just halten?

Approximate meanings:

stehen bleiben – to come to a halt, to stop moving and be standing.
Often used for people on foot:
Wir bleiben kurz stehen. – We stop (walking) for a moment.
anhalten – to stop (a vehicle or movement).
Common with cars, buses, etc.:
Der Bus hält an. – The bus stops.
halten alone – to hold, or (with vehicles) to stop.
Der Zug hält. – The train stops.
Ich halte das Seil. – I hold the rope.

In this hiking/climbing context, stehen bleiben fits well because people are walking and then remain standing.

What does kurz mean here? Is it about physical length or time?

In this sentence kurz is an adverb meaning briefly / for a short time:

Wir bleiben kurz stehen. – We stop briefly.

It is not about physical length (short rope, short distance) here. That sense would usually be attributive before a noun:

ein kurzes Seil – a short rope
ein kurzer Weg – a short path

So here it describes how long we stay standing, not how long something is.

Can kurz be in a different position in this sentence?

Yes, German allows some flexibility in adverb placement. These are all acceptable, with slightly different rhythms/emphasis:

Vor dem Abhang bleiben wir kurz stehen und prüfen unsere Klettergurte.
(neutral; kurz in the middle of the verb phrase)
Vor dem Abhang bleiben wir stehen und prüfen kurz unsere Klettergurte.
(here the checking is brief, not the standing)
Wir bleiben kurz vor dem Abhang stehen und prüfen unsere Klettergurte.
(emphasis: we stop just before the slope)

Context decides what you want to make “short”: the stop itself, the checking, or the distance.

Why is it prüfen here? Could you also say checken or kontrollieren?

All three exist, but they differ in tone:

prüfen – to examine, test, inspect carefully.
Sounds standard and appropriate for safety gear:
Wir prüfen unsere Klettergurte.
kontrollieren – to check/control, often more systematic or official:
Die Bergführer kontrollieren die Ausrüstung.
checken – informal, borrowed from English “to check”.
Often in casual speech:
Wir checken kurz unsere Gurte.

In a neutral, slightly careful context (especially written German), prüfen is an excellent choice.

Why is it unsere Klettergurte and not die Klettergurte?

unsere is a possessive determiner meaning our. It specifies whose harnesses they are:

die Klettergurte – the climbing harnesses (in general)
unsere Klettergurte – our climbing harnesses

Since they are checking their own equipment, German naturally uses the possessive.

What case is unsere Klettergurte, and how do we know?

unsere Klettergurte is in the accusative plural.

Reason: it is the direct object of prüfen (what do we check? – our harnesses):

Subject: wir
Verb: prüfen
Direct object: unsere Klettergurte

Declension clues:

Noun: der Klettergurt (sg.), die Klettergurte (pl.)
Possessive unser‑ in plural:
- Nominative plural: unsere Klettergurte
- Accusative plural: unsere Klettergurte

In the plural, nominative and accusative look the same, so the role in the sentence (direct object) tells you it’s accusative.

What is the singular of Klettergurte, and how is this word formed?

Singular:

der Klettergurt – the climbing harness

Plural:

die Klettergurte – the climbing harnesses

Word formation:

klettern – to climb
der Gurt – strap, belt, harness

Combined: der Klettergurt = a harness used for climbing. German often creates technical terms by compounding like this.

Could you also say Vor dem Abhang halten wir kurz an und prüfen unsere Gurte? Would that mean the same?

Yes, that is grammatically correct and close in meaning:

Vor dem Abhang halten wir kurz an und prüfen unsere Gurte.

Differences:

halten … an is more neutral “to stop” (very common with vehicles, but can also be used for people).
stehen bleiben feels a bit more like “come to a standstill” and fits nicely for people who are walking.

Also, unsere Gurte is less specific; it could be belts, straps in general, not necessarily climbing harnesses. unsere Klettergurte makes it clear we’re talking about climbing harnesses.

Why is present tense used here? In English I might say “we will stop” or “we are going to stop”.

German uses the present tense very often for future actions, especially when the context makes the time clear:

Morgen gehen wir klettern. – We are going climbing tomorrow.
Vor dem Abhang bleiben wir kurz stehen … – (when we get there) we will stop briefly …

You could form the future tense:

Vor dem Abhang werden wir kurz stehen bleiben …

But in everyday German, the present tense is more natural and completely sufficient when the sequence of actions is clear.

Is there a difference between stehen bleiben and bleiben stehen, or are they the same?

In meaning, they are the same; both express a kind of standing still / stopping.

Grammatically:

Dictionary form: stehen bleiben (or stehenbleiben)
In a main clause, the conjugated part must be in position 2. You can treat stehen bleiben like a verb with stehen as the main part or with bleiben as the main part, but in practice:

Typical patterns:

Wir bleiben stehen.
Wir sind stehen geblieben.
Wir werden stehen bleiben.

You will most often see bleiben conjugated and stehen at the end. The version in your sentence, bleiben wir kurz stehen, follows this very common pattern.