What does couloir mean?
A couloir is a steep, narrow gully cut into the face of a mountain, typically channeling snow, ice, and falling rock downslope. The term entered English in the nineteenth century from the French word for 'passage' or 'corridor', a fitting metaphor: to climbers and skiers threading their way up a great peak, these frozen grooves serve as natural highways through otherwise impassable walls of rock. Couloirs are prized routes in alpinism and extreme skiing precisely because they offer a direct line up or down a face, but they are also among the most hazardous terrain in the mountains, since they concentrate avalanches and rockfall into a single confined channel. The word appears mainly in mountaineering literature, guidebooks, and route descriptions, where names like 'the north couloir' often identify celebrated — and feared — lines of ascent and descent.
nounA deep, steep-sided gully or gorge on a mountainside, especially one forming a natural channel for snow, ice, or rockfall and used by climbers and skiers as an ascent or descent route.
- A steep, narrow gully or groove on a mountainside, often filled with snow or ice and used as a climbing or skiing route.
"The climbers waited for first light before attempting the frozen couloir on the mountain's north face."
"They roped up before entering the couloir, where loose rock rained down from above."
"Her line down the north couloir was hailed as one of the finest ski descents of the season."
Standard English plural; the word is a countable noun borrowed from French but takes regular English pluralization.
"Several broad couloirs streaked the east face of the peak."
English borrowed 'couloir' straight from the French word for 'corridor' — because to an alpinist, that narrow gully is exactly that: a hallway of ice and rock up the mountainside.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of couloir
The word 'couloir' was borrowed directly from French, where it means 'passage' or 'corridor' and derives from the verb 'couler', 'to flow', ultimately from Latin 'colare', 'to filter or strain'. English adopted it in the nineteenth century, during the golden age of Alpine exploration, when climbers needed a term for the steep grooves that channeled snow and ice down mountain faces. It thus shares an origin with words such as 'colander' and 'percolate', which trace back to the same Latin root.
How couloir is actually used
The word belongs chiefly to the specialized registers of mountaineering and ski literature and is rare in general conversation. It carries connotations of danger, exposure, and technical difficulty, since couloirs funnel falling rock and avalanche debris.
Easily confused with couloir
In French, 'couloir' means a corridor or passageway, but in English it refers specifically to a steep gully on a mountainside, not an indoor hallway.