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May, 2025

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Difference between a chute and a couloir

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lechickenwing
Posts: 19 - Karma: 11
im friggin confused...
13 years ago
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Dr.Gonzo
Posts: 2552 - Karma: 87
couloirs have rocks on the side, to my knowledge thats the difference, i could be completely wrong.
13 years ago
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SuwakaFlocka
Posts: 447 - Karma: 1,472
black diamond vs double black diamond
13 years ago
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chickenonabun
Posts: 461 - Karma: 285
I don't know of this has anything to do with it, but usually I see that chutes are shorter and couloirs are longer.
13 years ago
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250r
Posts: 2276 - Karma: 1,013
yea couloir means hallway in french, so ive always thought of it as having to do with having rock walls on either side, and i would also typically think coulies being longer than chutes. If you want a solid definition of what a real couloir is look up some of the stuff in places like chamonix.
13 years ago
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SteveStepp
Posts: 9529 - Karma: 20,659
a couloir is what you put your beverages in to keep them cold
13 years ago
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Sklar
Posts: 8865 - Karma: 31,618
from wikipedia:


A couloir (from the French word meaning "passage" or "corridor,") is a narrow gully with a steep gradient in a mountainous terrain.[1] A couloir may be a seam, scar, or fissure, or vertical crevasse in an otherwise solid mountain mass. Though often hemmed-in by sheer cliff walls, couloirs may also be less well-defined, often simply being a line of broken talus or scree ascending the mountainside and bordered by trees or other natural features. Couloirs are especially significant in winter months when they may be filled in with snow or ice, becoming much more noticeable than in warmer months when the majority of the snow and ice may recede. These physical features make the use of couloirs popular for both skiing and mountaineering.
13 years ago
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JWoods
Posts: 2369 - Karma: 2,635
This.
13 years ago
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zahava
Posts: 7791 - Karma: 12,039
I always thought that couloir was just the european word for chute?
13 years ago
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bighomieflock
Posts: 2040 - Karma: 2,445
This seems right. And chute is like to fire a weapon. As in: I chute people when I play call of duty.
13 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61956 - Karma: 126,726
chutes are shorter and usually you straight line or only take a couple turns in a chute. a couloir you actually completely ski through and is much longer and usually wider than a chutea
13 years ago
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Literature
Posts: 13673 - Karma: 3,087
Same difference.
13 years ago
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CassiusClay
Posts: 1757 - Karma: 2
This. Most 'couloirs' I've seen or skied have been pretty open. They're certainly bordered areas, but not to the extent of chutes. Chutes are generally very enclosed areas (typically for short distances) that you can either make jump turns or straight line. Couloirs can be very open... think of chutes as two close vertical lines you need to ski between and couloirs as something looking like \ /.
13 years ago
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LivinOuttaBounZ
Posts: 949 - Karma: 382
Mmmm. Chutney.
13 years ago
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Rosbif
Posts: 2543 - Karma: 930
I always figured they were synonyms.
13 years ago
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Holte
Posts: 10751 - Karma: 7,996
basically, a coulior has a narrower choke than its entrance. Chutes can be narrow all the way through.
13 years ago
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minihef
Posts: 827 - Karma: 931
Disagree strongly about the width aspect - many couloirs have very narrow cruxes or are consistently narrow, requiring jump turns and such. I would agree that with bigger vertical something is more likely to be described as a couloir rather than chute. Generally though there's a lot of overlap and chute is a more vague term IMO.
13 years ago
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250r
Posts: 2276 - Karma: 1,013
yea i agree on the width part...the two lines in this are both couloirs, the one on the lookers left obviously is, but the one from the peak, although it has a 70cm crux, is still very much considered a couloir...granted it does have about 1300m of vertical drop
13 years ago
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250r
Posts: 2276 - Karma: 1,013
/\oh whoops forgot to post the pic

Click for larger image
13 years ago
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