Climbing And Cross Country Route Terms
Terms commonly used to describe climbing and cross country travel routes have been roughly defined as follows:
Arête—a narrow, steep ridge.
Chimney—a steep, narrow chute with approximately parallel walls.
Chockstone—a rock wedged usually into a chute or gully at the bottom.
Chute—steeper than a gully, and often subject to recurrent avalanches of rock or snow.
Col—a high, steep pass. A rounded col is often called a saddle.
Couloir—a chute which has or is likely to have ice or snow.
Crack—a narrow separation between rock faces varying from about one foot to a tenth of an inch or less.
Face—a steep side of a mountain, which may vary from a slope of about 40° to a vertical cliff.
Gully—the broadest and lowest angle of depression that grooves the mountainside.
Notch—about the same as col.
Pass—the lowest or most convenient point at which a long ridge can be crossed.
Ridge—a high divide extending out from a peak.
Scree—a heap of loose stones or rocks.
Slope—a side of a mountain gentler than a face.
Summit—the highest point of a peak.
Talus—a sloping heap of broken rocks and stones at the foot of a cliff.