Annapurna (41 page)
Authors: Maurice Herzog
The return by the Miristi Khola in the monsoon
Through the paddy fields
Glossary
anorak | wind-proof jacket with hood attached. |
arête | ridge, generally one of the main ridges of a mountain. |
belay | to secure the climber to a projection with the rope; the projection itself. |
bergschrund | a large crevasse separating the upper slopes of a glacier from the steeper ice or rock above. |
cagoule | long anorak descending below the knees. |
chimney | a narrow vertical gully in rock or ice. |
chorten | a Buddhist religious monument. |
col | pass. |
cornice | overhanging mass of snow or ice along a ridge, shaped like the curling crest of a wave and generally formed by the prevailing wind. |
couloir | gully or furrow in a mountain side; may be of rock, ice or snow. |
crampons | metal frame with spikes, fitting the soles of the boots, for use on hard snow or ice. |
crevasse | a fissure in a glacier, often of great depth. |
gendarme | rock tower or tooth on a ridge. |
glissade | to slide down a snow slope, either sitting or standing, using the ice-axe to control speed and direction. |
ice-fall | a much torn and crevassed portion of a glacier caused by a change of angle or direction in the slope. |
line | a thin rope used for rappel or roping down (q.v.). |
massif | group of mountains. |
moraine | accumulation of stones and débris brought down by a glacier, which forms ridges. |
névé | patches of snow, usually above the permanent snow line. |
pitch | section of difficult ice or rock, anything from 10 to 120 feet in height. |
piton | metal spike with a ring in the head, which can be driven into rock or ice. |
rappel or roping down | system of descending steep pitches by means of a rope doubled round a projection. Usually the thin rope known as |
rope | attaches members of a party together; a party may be referred to as ‘a rope’. |
scree | slope of small loose stones. |
serac | tower or pinnacle of ice, found mainly in ice-falls. |
slalom | zigzag descent on skis. |
snap-link | large metal spring-loaded clip, which can be fixed to the rope or piton. |
snow-bridge | a layer of snow bridging a crevasse. |
spur | a rib of rock: sometimes used for an arête (q.v.) |
traverse | to cross a mountain slope horizontally. |
tsampa | roasted and ground barley or other grain. |
verglas | thin coating of ice on rock. |
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Version 1.0
Epub ISBN 9781409077275
Published by Vintage 2011
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Copyright © Maurice Herzog 1952
Introduction copyright © Joe Simpson 1997
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First published in Great Britain in 1952 by Jonathan Cape
First published in paperback in 1997 by Pimlico
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ISBN 9780099541462