Rimayes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Crevasses that form at the boundary where a glacier pulls away from a mountain slope ; often acting as obstacles in mountaineering routes ; typically marking the upper limit of glacier movement
2. Large gaps found between glacier ice and the adjoining rock face ; encountered frequently by climbers ascending alpine routes ; serving as natural divides near the head of a glacier
3. Open fissures occurring where the upper edge of a glacier detaches from the underlying rock or snow ; commonly challenging points for mountaineers ; usually delineating the start of moving glacial ice

Etymology: "Rimayes" is the plural of "rimaye," a term borrowed from French, where "rimaye" names the same kind of crevasse. The French word describes the gap, often deep and hard to cross, that opens between a moving glacier and the rock or steep slope it has begun to pull away from. Mountaineers in the Alps and elsewhere encounter these gaps near the upper edge of a glacier, where ice flow separates from the mountainside, so the English term has stayed closely tied to alpine climbing.

Synonyms: crevasses, ice cracks, glacier cracks