phrase-usageword-choiceword-usage
One can mount a horse and dismount (from) it, ascend a mountain and descend from it, go up and down a ladder.
But once someone climbed (up) a tree, would it be correct to ask him to climb down (from) it?
Or should "come down" be used instead, since the meaning of the verb climb is to go up, or to go towards the top of something?
Here's the source with the answer "yes", and here's the one with the answer "no". Are there any alternatives to stay on the safe side?
NOAD lists three definitions for shoulder (I've omitted Definition #1, as that is the classic anatomical shoulder):
2 a part of something resembling a shoulder in shape, position, or function : the shoulder of a pulley.
• a point at which a steep slope descends from a plateau or highland area : the shoulder of the hill sloped down.
3 a paved strip alongside a road for stopping on in an emergency.
With those definitions in mind (particularly the subdefinition under Def. 2), it seems like shoulder tells a bit more about the hill than side might; specifically, it implies the top of the hill is relatively flat, with a relatively steep slope downward from the top. Depending on their shapes, some hills might not have shoulders.
In regards to the sentence, I think the shoulder of the hill is a more precise area than the side of the hill. Looking at the image below, I there are several hobbit holes in the side of the hill, but only the ones boxed in orange are ones that I would place on the shoulder of the hill, that is, in the area where the slope descends downward from the highland area:
Unless Mr. Baggins lived in one of the lower holes, I wouldn't really call this a "mistranslation" – just a word that is perhaps more detailed than it needs to be.
"It is snowing heavily"
"The snowfall is heavy today"
As you have very well pointed out, 'snowing' doesn't have many idioms attached to it, when compared to 'raining'.
Best Answer
There is nothing wrong with climb down, especially since it's commonly used.
As you have found, it is common enough that it has dictionary entries. Here is another for climb:
Presently, this is how the verb climb can also be used. Contrary to what your source says, there is nothing imprecise or ambiguous about climb down. Choosing to use it or not use it is a matter of taste, as he admits.
Just like go up and go down the ladder, climb up the ladder can also be used. This is not incorrect and not necessarily redundant.
I glanced through the thesaurus and the only close alternative I found was descend. If you tell a kid "Descend from the tree!", it would sound strange and out-dated (if people ever really spoke like that).
I think come down is a good alternative, as you have suggested. You can also use get down, as in "Get down from there!"