Vocabulary
Written by Ronald Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 May 2009 18:02
Here you will find a list of terms - and their descriptions - I used in the tour descriptions (or generally at this website). Most of those words are only known in the German or Austrian language or in the world of mountain hiking and climbing.
Sattel : sort of mountain ridge, referes to a saddle.
Parzelle : group of houses on mountainslopes, Parzelle is the German word for property or lot.
Tobel : kind of ravine but more in the forests then in the rocky parts of the mountains.
Forststrasse : forest road.
Trittsicherheit : the best way to describe this one is: How much confidence do you have when you make a step? Be aware of gravel, loose rocks, pebble etc. at steep parts on the slope.
Schwindelfreiheit : you must be aware that there are high peaks, deep ravines etc. so you could get dizzy very easy! With Schwindelfreiheit we mean that you won't get dizzy.
Latschen : in Dutch we call this 'kruipden' or 'bergden', but I have no clue what the actual English word for Latschen is. Kramers Dutch to English dictionary does not have a translation. Well, Latschen is like some sort of fir, but has the shape of a bush. From Stefan (an internetfriend who also likes mountaineering, see link section and click at eisenbach.at) I got the following description: "The "official" German translation is "Krummholz" . I use it often instead of Latschen "Alpine pines", but it's a personal creation of mine. Another translation (this I found at http://dict.leo.org) is "knee timber" but I never heard that someone really knows this word. I would use Krummholz, because I have the expierence, that many hikers in the US and in Canda know this word". Thanks for this description, Stefan!
Klamm / Schlucht : if you ask me this, a Klamm and a Schlucht are the same. It's a deep ravine worn out by water (a river) during the passage of time.
Spaziergang : a short and easy walk.
