"Into Thin Air" vocabulary (chapter 2) – Flashcards
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accretion: an increase by natural growth or by gradual external addition; growth in size or extent; the result of this process
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"The actual particulars of the event are unclear, obscured by the accretion of the myth." (page 15)
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escarpment: a long, precipitous, cliff-like ridge of land, rock
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"To the surveyors who shot it, all but the summit nub of Peak XV was obscured by various high escarpments in the foreground, several of which gave the illusion of being much greater in stature." (page 16)
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refraction: the change of direction of a ray of light, sound, heat, or the like, in passing obliquely from one medium into another in which its wave velocity is different
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"But according to Sikhdar's meticulous trigonometric reckoning (which took into account such factors such as curvature of the earth, atmospheric refraction, and plumb-line deflection) Peak XV stood 29,002 feet above sea level, the planet's loftiest point." (page 16)
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plumb-line: a cord with a lead bob attached to one end, used to determine perpendicularity, the depth of water
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"But according to Sikhdar's meticulous trigonometric reckoning (which took into account such factors such as curvature of the earth, atmospheric refraction, and plumb-line deflection) Peak XV stood 29,002 feet above sea level, the planet's loftiest point."(page 16)
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appellation: a name, title
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"But Waugh pointedly chose to ignore these native appellations, and Everest was the name that stuck." (page 16)
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terrestrial: pertaining to, consisting of, or representing the earth as distinct from other planets
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"After the American explorer Robert Peary claimed to have reached the North Pole in 1909 and Roald Amundsen led a Norwegian party to the South Pole in 1911, Everest- the so-called third pole- became the most coveted object in the realm of terrestrial exploration." (page 16)
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connoisseur: a discerning judge of the best in any field
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"Among mountaineers and other connoisseurs of geological form, Everest is not regarded as a particularly comely peak." (page 17)
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formidable: of discouraging or awesome strength, size, difficulty, intimidating
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"The first eight expeditions to Everest were British, all of which attempted the mountain from the northern, Tibetan, side- not so much because it presented the most obvious weakness in the peak's formidable defenses but rather because in 1921 the Tibetan government opened its long-closed borders to the foreigners, while Nepal remained resolutely off limits." (page 17)
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arduous: very difficult to achieve, laborious
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"The first Everesters were obliges to trek 400 arduous miles from Darjeeling across the Tibetan plateau simply to reach the mountain." (page 17)
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quip: clever or witty remark or comment, sarcastic remark
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"While on a lantern-slide lecture tour of the United States, it was he who so notoriously quipped, 'Because it is there' when an irritating newspaperman demanded to know why he wanted to climb Everest." (page 18)
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zeal: fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence
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"In the spring of 1953 a large British team, organized with the righteous zeal and overpowering resources of a military campaign, became the third expedition to attempt Everest from Nepal." (page 19)
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strenuous:characterized by vigorous exertion, as action, efforts
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"The climbing was strenuous and sketchy, but Hillary persisted until, as he would later write, ......" (page 19)
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undulate: to have a wavy form or surface; bend with successive curves in alternate directions
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"Fighting exhaustion, the two climbers continued up the undulating ridge above." (page 20)
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visceral: characterized by or proceeding from instinct rather than intellect
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"Hillary and Tenzing climbed Everest a month before I was conceived, so I didn't share in the collective sense of pride and wonder that swept the world- an event that an older friend says was comparable, in its visceral impact, to the first manned landing on the moon." (page 21)
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daunting: to overcome with fear; intimidate
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"On May 22, 1963, Tom Hornbein, a thirty-two year old doctor from Missouri, and Willi Unsoeld, thirty-six, a professor of theology from Oregon, reached the summit of Everest via the peak's daunting West Ridge, previously unclimbed." (page 22)
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audacious: extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless
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"Their best hope for getting off the mountain alive, they concluded, was to go over the top and down the well-established Southeast Ridge route, an extremely audacious plan, given the late hour, the unknown terrain, and their rapidly diminishing supply of bottled oxygen." (page 22)
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bivouac: the place used for such an encampment
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"Hornbein and Unsoeld arrived on the summit at 6:15 p.m., just as the sun was setting, and were forced the spend the night in the open above 28,000 feet- at the time, the highest bivouac in history." (page 22)
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resonate: to resound
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"Not surprisingly, accounts of the 1963 epic on Everest resonated loud and long in my preadolescent imagination." (page 22)
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machismo: a strong or exaggerated sense of power or the right to dominate
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"The culture of ascent was characterized by intense competition and undiluted machismo, but for the most part, its constituents were concerned with impressing only one another." (page 23)
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aesthetics: the study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of beauty
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"The government of Nepal recognized that the throngs flocking to Everest created serious problems in term of safety, aesthetics, and impact to the environment." (page 25)
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calamitous: causing or involving calamity
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"Even before the calamitous outcome of the 1996 premonsoon climbing season, the proliferation of commercial expeditions over the past decade was a touchy issue." (page 26)
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monsoon: the season during which the southwest monsoon blows, commonly marked by heavy rains; rainy season
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"Even before the calamitous outcome of the 1996 premonsoon climbing season, the proliferation of commercial expeditions over the past decade was a touchy issue." (page 26)
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parvenu: a person who has recently or suddenly acquired wealth, importance, position, or the like, but has not yet developed the conventionally appropriate manners, dress, surroundings
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"Traditionalists were offended that the world's highest summit was being sold to rich parvenus- some of whom, if denied the services of the guides, would probably have difficulty making it to the top of a peak as modest as Mount Rainier." (page 26)
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profane: not initiated into religious rites or mysteries
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"Everest, the purists sniffed, had been debased and profaned." (page 26)
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frangible: easily broken; breakable
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"Near the southern tip of South America, where the wind sweeps the land like 'the broom of God'- 'la escoba de Dios,' as the locals say- I'd scaled a frightening, mile-high spike of vertical and overhanging granite called Cerro Torre; buffeted by hundred-knot winds, plastered with frangible atmospheric rime it was once (though no longer) thought to be the world's hardest mountain." (page 28)
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rime: also called rime ice. an opaque coating of tiny, white, granular ice particles, caused by the rapid freezing of supercooled water droplets on impact with an object
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"Near the southern tip of South America, where the wind sweeps the land like 'the broom of God'- 'la escoba de Dios,' as the locals say- I'd scaled a frightening, mile-high spike of vertical and overhanging granite called Cerro Torre; buffeted by hundred-knot winds, plastered with frangible atmospheric rime it was once (though no longer) thought to be the world's hardest mountain." (page 28)
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escapade: a reckless adventure or wild prank
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"But these escapades had occurred years earlier, in some cases decades earlier, when I was in my twenties and thirties." (page 28)
