rickety
metal, wooden
long, tall
loft (esp. BrE), rope
fire-escape

ascend, clamber up, climb, climb up, go up, mount, scale
He went up the ladder onto the deck.

come down, descend, go down
put up
We put up the ladder against the wall.

fall off

on a/the ladder, up a/the ladder
She was up a ladder fixing the roof.

down a/the ladder
I was standing lower down the ladder.

ladder to
the ladder to the gallery

the bottom of a ladder, the foot of a ladder, the top of a ladder
a rung of a ladder, a step of a ladder
Several of the ladder's rungs were broken.

economic, evolutionary, social
the people at the top of the social ladder

career, corporate, promotion
housing, property (both BrE)

ascend, climb, move up
She was anxious to move up the promotion ladder.

get onto

higher up the ladder
creatures higher up the evolutionary ladder

lower down the ladder
ladder of
the ladder of fame

ladder to
His good looks helped him on the ladder to success.

get one foot on the ladder, have one foot on the ladder (both esp. BrE)
He finally managed to get one foot on the career ladder.

a rung on the ladder, a step on the ladder
the old problem of how to get onto the first step on the ladder