1. sherpa noun A male member of the Sherpa people employed as a mountain guide or porter

2. summit noun a peak; the top of a mountain

3. elevation noun That which is raised up or elevated; an elevated place or station; as, an elevation of the ground; a hill.

4. sea level noun Height of the surface of the oceans above which heights of geographical features and aircraft flight levels are measured.

5. abyss noun A bottomless depth, gulf, or chasm; any deep, immeasurable, or bottomless pit

6. peak noun The very top of the mountain

7. secure noun To make free from danger Verb Free from danger

8. yak noun An ox-like mammal native to the Himalayas and Tibet with dark, long and silky hair a horse like tail and a full, bushy mane

9. glacier noun A large body of ice which flows under its own mass, usually downhill.

10. altitude noun The height measured from sea level up to any given point. A vertical distance.

11. acclimatization noun The process of becoming used to a new climate

12. acclimate verb To learn to endure or survive in a climate from which you are not native

13. gear noun Equipment needed specifically for an athletic endeavor

14. expedition noun A journey taken by a group of people with a definite objective

15. base camp noun Area used for staging an attempt to reach the summit of a mountain 17,700 feet

16. Advanced base camp (ABC) noun Staging area 2 or Camp 2 for attempts to summit 21,300 feet

17. crevasse noun Crack or opening (fissure) in a glacier or ice field

18. Death zone noun Last area before attempting to summit; climbers can only endure being in the death zone for 2-3 days; high risk for altitude sickness & frostbite

19. frostbite noun The freezing of some part of the body

20. descend Verb To pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards

21. avalanche noun A large mass or body of snow and ice sliding swiftly down a mountain side