Outdoor Dictionary: 20 Common Slang Words in the Adventure World
Ever wonder if you were missing something during a conversation about an adventure, questioning if you were even speaking the same language? The outdoor community has an entire dictionary full of slang words for everything from terrain and conditions to gear terminology and specific outdoor activities and techniques.
While this is by no means an exhaustive or comprehensive list, here are 20 common adventure slang words to get you nodding confidently along in the worlds of hiking, camping, paddling, cycling and climbing.
1. Alpenglow (AL-puhn-gloh): the worthiest of all reasons to start early and stay late; the pink, peach or purple glow on the mountains during sunrise or sunset when the sun is just below the horizon
2. Belay (buh-LAY): securing a rope or cable to control the rope set up between the climber and a partner (belayer), who keeps tension and can arrest a climber turned faller
3. Beta (BAY-duh): insider information about a route; it’s smart to gather some of this before going out yourself
4. Biff: the unceremonious, often painful eating of dirt after being launched off your bike
5. Bivouac (BIV-oo-ak): a temporary camp in a suboptimal location (think the side of a mountain); can be shortened to bivy, which refers to the single-person shelter used to bivouac, often a minimalist waterproof sleeve encasing the person and their sleeping bag
6. Bushwhack: pushing through brush and thick vegetation off trail; especially unpleasant through patches of devil’s club and during or after a rain shower
7. Cairn (kehrn): when there are no trees to blaze or hang flagging tape from, the next best trail marker is a stack of rocks. Also used to indicate the summit and shelter the summit box complete with a log, pencil, and several other choice items (if you know you know)
8. Chamois (SHAM-ee): A padded insert or liner in cycling shorts, the saddle sore preventing cushion for the rider’s downstairs areas, especially desirable during long rides; also the animal that traditionally supplied the leather it was made from
9. Chossy (CHAW-see): term for soft, unstable rock that is often paired with descriptively unhappy language uttered by those whose objective is complicated or thwarted by the crumbly, flaky stuff
10. Crux (krucks): the most difficult move or series of moves, and what a climb rating is based on
11. Feather: an adjustment to a kayak paddle so the blades are at an angle to each other rather than straight; can make paddling easier on your wrists; can improve speed and efficiency; or can help reduce resistance when facing a strong headwind
12. Glissade (gliss-AYD): the funnest, fastest way to get down a snowy slope you spent an hour kick stepping up; like skiing sans skis (or, if you’re not much of a skier, on your butt like I do). Have an ice axe handy for arrests. Be prepared to giggle a lot and end up with snow up the back of your jacket
13. Guy lines: pieces of cord used to anchor a tent or tarp to the ground, trees or poles
14. J-stroke: named after the shape of the stroke; forward propulsion ending with a corrective hook; used to travel in a straight line, especially handy when paddling a canoe solo
15. Mummy bag: a fitted sleeping bag with a hood; named after the sarcophagi shape, and perhaps because it can feel restrictive and coffin-like to the starfishers among us
16. Portage (por-TAHZH): to carry a canoe or kayak between lakes or rivers, often on your shoulders
17. Postholing: abruptly sinking knee to crotch deep in the snow while hiking; humorous to observers and an initially funny but ultimately frustrating way to completely tire yourself out and ensure minimal progress
18. Puffy: my favorite insulating layer, the instantly cozy down jacket styled after the Michelin man; can be packed down into a luxurious pillow
19. Sweeper: a type of river hazard: low hanging branches that can sweep you right off your boat
20. Vestibule (VESS-tuh-byool): your tent’s covered porch; the areas outside the tent itself but under the staked-out rainfly; a good place to store stinky boots and big packs
