couloir

Borrowed from French couloir.

• IPA^(key): /kulˈwɑɹ/

couloir (plural couloirs)

1. (climbing, skiing) A steep gorge along a mountainside.
   • 1978, Yvon Chouinard, Climbing Ice, page 145,

     Those deep, dark slots in a mountain known as couloirs are often the most obvious routes of ascent.

   • 1987, Roger Marshall, AdventureSport: Everest and Me, Backpacker, page 42,

     Looking up the face I could see directly into the Japanese and Hornbein couloirs, an almost direct 9000 feet to the summit.

   • 1998, R. J. Secor, Denali Climbing Guide, page 99,

     Ascend a long, easy snow couloir back left to the crest of Cassin Ridge at 17700 feet, where there is a campsite.

   • 2002, American Alpine Club Safety Committee, Alpine Club of Canada Safety Committee, Accidents in North American Mountaineering, Issue 55, page 58,

     When they approached the couloir shortly before 0300, the snow was firm enough for them to use crampons.

• Crioulo, crioulo

couler +‎ -oir

• IPA^(key): /ku.lwaʁ/

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couloir m (plural couloirs)

1. corridor, hallway
2. aisle (in an airliner)
3. slipstream

• “couloir” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).