as in canyon
a narrow opening between hillsides or mountains that can be used for passage
at one point the steep, ice-encrusted walls of the couloir are no more than 50 feet apart
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of couloir
For more than eight hours, rescuers worked to reach the hikers and lower them from the couloir.
—
Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 27 May 2024
While the walls of the steep, narrowing gully quickly rise to more than 100 feet on either side and the couloir is large enough to be rippled with a few ski lines, a snowball tossed from the top can nearly reach the bottom of the gully and the creek that drains it in winter.
—Christopher Solomon, Outside Online, 22 Mar. 2018
In August, 21-year-old Jadyn Weiss fell 300 feet to her death while descending a steep mountain gully known as the Flying Dutchman couloir.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 2 Oct. 2023
That includes backcountry boarding and skiing with friends, ice climbing, snowshoeing, hiking and climbing couloirs.
—Chris Meehan, Popular Mechanics, 27 Feb. 2023
Rivulets and rocks made the couloir treacherous.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2023
Six members of the group were ascending the gulley, called a couloir, early Sunday afternoon when the lead climber triggered the avalanche, the sheriff’s office said.
—Gene Johnson, Hartford Courant, 23 Feb. 2023
The view opened up over the other side of the col: the steep west face of Mount Helen and its northwest couloir, still packed with snow in early August, and the peaks of the east side of Titcomb Basin.
—Brendan Leonard, Outside Online, 14 Aug. 2020
Chin and Monod bootpack up a perfect couloir on Surprise Pass, Alberta.
—Grayson Schaffer, Outside Online, 14 May 2015
Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 27 May 2024
While the walls of the steep, narrowing gully quickly rise to more than 100 feet on either side and the couloir is large enough to be rippled with a few ski lines, a snowball tossed from the top can nearly reach the bottom of the gully and the creek that drains it in winter.
—Christopher Solomon, Outside Online, 22 Mar. 2018
In August, 21-year-old Jadyn Weiss fell 300 feet to her death while descending a steep mountain gully known as the Flying Dutchman couloir.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 2 Oct. 2023
That includes backcountry boarding and skiing with friends, ice climbing, snowshoeing, hiking and climbing couloirs.
—Chris Meehan, Popular Mechanics, 27 Feb. 2023
Rivulets and rocks made the couloir treacherous.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2023
Six members of the group were ascending the gulley, called a couloir, early Sunday afternoon when the lead climber triggered the avalanche, the sheriff’s office said.
—Gene Johnson, Hartford Courant, 23 Feb. 2023
The view opened up over the other side of the col: the steep west face of Mount Helen and its northwest couloir, still packed with snow in early August, and the peaks of the east side of Titcomb Basin.
—Brendan Leonard, Outside Online, 14 Aug. 2020
Chin and Monod bootpack up a perfect couloir on Surprise Pass, Alberta.
—Grayson Schaffer, Outside Online, 14 May 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for couloir
Noun
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But with gusts clocked at 59 mph, the fire quickly started pushing a shower of sparks across the canyon.—
Terry Castleman,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2025
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Tucked into a box canyon in the San Juan Mountains, Telluride, Colorado, is best known for its epic skiing and annual film festival.—
Emma Reynolds,
Robb Report,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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California’s largest fire in 2024 started when a man pushed a burning car into a ravine near Chico.—
Virginia Iglesias,
The Conversation,
13 Jan. 2025
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Advertisement Hirschfield raped Gonsalves and dumped both of the teenagers’ bodies in a ravine about 30 miles east of Davis in Sacramento County, where they were found by police three days later.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The phenomenon results from rapid tidal currents squeezing between two gorges, making the water rush as quickly and dramatically as, well, a waterfall, only horizontally.—
Emily Matchar,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Jan. 2025
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New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, West Virginia New River Gorge National Park packs an adventurous punch in its svelte 73,000 acres, protecting 53 miles of the class IV New River and the steep, rocky gorge around it.—
Graham Averill,
Outside Online,
21 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near couloir
Cite this Entry
“Couloir.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/couloir. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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