belay and rappel

山登りはほとんど経験がありませんが、大雪山と富士山は登ったことがあります。屋久島の縄文杉も見に行きましたがこれもミニ登山と言えるかな。今日は、Reader's Digest 7月号の記事 "FREE FALL" 、登山好きの女性(Lauren McLean)がイエローストーンパークの南にある Grand Teton National Parkの登山で大怪我をし、助けられた話に出てきた、山登りに関係する単語を二つ覚えたいと思います。
最初の単語は "belay" で次ぎの個所に出てきました。
Ybarra was sitting on a broad slab near the top of the buttress, where he'd anchored himself to the rock so that he could safely belay his partner's ropes. He seemed surprised when Ries turned up alone, and he winced when she informed him of McLean's position.
"belay" の意味を辞書で調べます。
・Collins Dictionary: (mountaineering) to secure (a climber) to a mountain by tying the rope off round a rock spike, piton, nut, etc: Mr Hunston said:'The ice was getting very brittle and hard and I couldn't get the quality of ice to belay.
・Oxford English Dictionary: fix (a running rope) round a cleat, rock, pin, or other object, to secure it. --secure (a climber) with a belayed rope: he belayed his partner across the ice
次ぎの単語は "rappel" です。
Ybarra pulled out his mobile phone and dialled emergency; the dispatcher patched him through to a search-and-rescue (SAR) coordinator for Grand Teton National Park. "We've got an injured climber," Ybarra told the ranger. "I'll tell you more when I have the details." Then he re-tied his own rope and began rappelling down the cliff. "rappel" を辞書で調べます。
・Macmillan Dictionary: to come down the side of a cliff or mountain using a rope that is fastened to the top of the cliff or mountain and to your body
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to descend (as from a cliff) by sliding down a rope passed under one thigh, across the body, and over the opposite shoulder or through a special friction device