an act of scaling by the use of ladders (especially the walls of a fortification)
<noun.act> [ verb ]
climb up and over
<verb.motion> They had to escalade canyons to reach their destination
Escalade \Es`ca*lade"\, n. [F., Sp. escalada (cf. It. scalata), fr. Sp. escalar to scale, LL. scalare, fr. L. scala ladder. See {Scale}, v. t.] (Mil.) A furious attack made by troops on a fortified place, in which ladders are used to pass a ditch or mount a rampart.
Sin enters, not by escalade, but by cunning or treachery. --Buckminster.
Escalade \Es`ca*lade"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Escaladed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Escalading}.] (Mil.) To mount and pass or enter by means of ladders; to scale; as, to escalate a wall.