couloir
Steep snow channel
A couloir is a steep, narrow gully on a mountainside, typically filled with snow or ice.
The term comes from French and is used primarily in mountaineering and skiing to describe these natural channels that cut through rock faces: We ascended the north couloir at dawn before the snow softened.
Couloirs can be both routes of ascent and dangerous avalanche paths.
Channel carved by flowing water
Slow-moving ice mass
- crevasseDeep glacial fissure
- seracGlacial ice pinnacle
- corniceOrnamental upper trim
- icefallSteep, crevassed glacier section
summit · peak · massif · cordillera · altitude · elevation · alpinism · expedition
Spiked boot attachments
- ice-axeMountaineering cutting tool
- belayAnchor a rope
- rappelControlled rope descent
- ascenderOne moving upward
carabiner · rope · harness · anchor · piton · fixed-line · lead · pitch
gully
Channel carved by flowing water
defile · cwm · cirque · notch · col · saddle · pass · ridge · spur · crag
glacier
Slow-moving ice mass
icefall · summit · peak · massif · cordillera · altitude · elevation · alpinism · expedition · high-altitude
crampons
Spiked boot attachments
ascender · carabiner · rope · harness · anchor · piton · fixed-line · lead · pitch · multi-pitch
powder
Fine dry particles
ice · whiteout · conditions · snowfall · accumulation · aspect
slab
Thick flat piece
runout · fracture · crown · transceiver · probe · shovel · burial · rescue · forecast · snowpack