companion ladder

Noun

 * 1)  Either of two ladders leading from the raised quarterdeck of a sailing ship to the upper deck.
 * 2) * 1808–10,, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 87:
 * Just as I got my head above the companion ladder, I felt an indescribably unpleasant sensation, suddenly, as it were, losing the power of breathing.