couloir
Americannoun
-
couloirs
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of couloir
1850–55; < French: literally, colander < Late Latin cōlātōrium strainer, equivalent to Latin cōlā ( re ) to strain, filter + -tōrium -tory 2; see coulee
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Gyselinck knows Eight Mile Road well and has climbed in these mountains for over 20 years, including a successful March 2016 ascent of Colchuck Peak via the northeast couloir.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
Lewicky’s benchmark for great adventures dates to 2008 when, on a hike through the San Gabriels, he spotted an unfamiliar couloir — a steep chute bordered by rock on either side — in the distance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
After about 1,500 vertical feet, the couloir narrowed and made a sharp bend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
Two-thirds of the way up the couloir, the route forks.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2023
On the 10th we made our first attempt by the central couloir, which leads up to the depression between the two summits.
From Climbing in The British Isles, Vol. II Wales and Ireland by H. C. Hart
Olympian Cam Smith described the longer versions as a “more in-wild-mountains-off-the-ski-resorts event where you’re climbing up and skiing down in wild places and on technical ridges, on peaks, couloirs, all that good stuff.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
“Access couloirs that used to last deep into August are falling apart,” Volken added, describing the steep, narrow gullies that climbers often must ascend.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2023
That meant it could take years to develop a marquee name or lasting status in a world that prizes near-vertical, high-speed descents through or above snow-covered couloirs and fearsome stony bluffs.
From New York Times ● Jan. 3, 2021
And while Big Sky is revered for steep chutes and terrifying couloirs, of the resort’s 5,800 acres, 40% is made for newbies and intermediate skiers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2018
If, therefore, there is too great a thickness of fresh snow to allow of steps being cut through this into the ice beneath, such couloirs are unsafe.
From Above the Snow Line by Clinton Thomas Dent
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