mauvais pas

/ ˈməʊvɛ ˈpɑː /

noun

1. mountaineering a place that presents a particular difficulty on a climb or walk

Word History and Origins

Origin of mauvais pas¹

C19: from French: bad step

Example Sentences

There is one part of the course called the Mauvais Pas, which winds along the edge of the cliff, and would hardly be passable but for an iron rod fastened in the side of the rock, to which one clings for support, and looking away from the precipice on the other side, makes the passage in safety.

From Project Gutenberg

I then stepped across the mauvais pas, clambered up the rock till I had reached a spot where a capital hitch could be got over a jutting piece of rock, and the rest of the party followed.

From Project Gutenberg

Between the ledges by which these traverses are in the main effected, and the beach below, scrambles of every variety of difficulty may be found, some being amongst the hardest mauvais pas with which I am acquainted.

From Project Gutenberg

Soon after our friend had departed, and we had recovered from the astonishment into which his unexpected visit had thrown us, we reached the end of our mauvais pas, and found ourselves at the foot of a wild valley, entirely shut in by ranges of lofty cliffs, with here and there patches of snow lying on the least inclined spots.

From Project Gutenberg

A scientific gentleman Then there was an excitable Englishman of impulsive habits, with a large family who were perpetually playing a game of follow-my-leader with their parent, and who were under orders to weigh anchor on the following morning at five o’clock for the Montanvert and the Mauvais Pas.

From Project Gutenberg