Friday, February 24, 2012

Oral Presentation - Caving





Specific vocabulary used in the presentation on caving


pitchblack (adj.) totally black
helmet hardhat that protects the head
headlamp a lamp to be worn on the head (e.g. attached to the helmet)
wetsuit a suit that keeps you warm in the water
through trip a caving tour that leaves the cave through another entry
speleothems various types of stone formations that can be found in caves
stalactite speleothem growing vertically from the ceiling
straws very thin, long stalactite
stalagmite speleothem growing vertically on the ground, under a stalactite
column a stalctite that has met its stalagmite (or the ground)
flowstone a speleothem that looks like a frozen liquid
drapery a curtainlike, hanging and often thin sheet of flowstone
pitch a vertical drop in / into a cave
to abseil (br.), rappel (am.) to let oneself down on a rope (from German: abseilen)
to belay to secure
carabiner / maillon a metal loop that can be opened
to tackle to equip a pitch with a rope
anchor belay point
harness a safety system that indirectely connects the rope to the caver
caving gear equipment used by a caver
descender a device that enables controlled “abseiling
ascender a device that allows one to climb up a rope
to jam to block
cowtails a set of short ropes, equipped with carabiners that allows cavers to attach themselves to belay anchors




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