A glissade is a climbing technique mostly used in mountaineering and alpine climbing where a climber starts a controlled slide down a snow and/or ice slope to speed up their descent. Glissading is ideally done later in the day when the snow is softer.[1][2]

Mountaineers glissading down snow slopes

Most glissading is done in a seated position (and ideally with a water-proof durable surface on which to sit and slide),[3] with the legs bent to absorb shocks and bumps, and an ice axe held diagonally across the body to be in a position to perform a self-arrest if the glissade starts to get out of control.[1] Crampons are explicitly not used while glissading as they can cause serious injury.[1] Some climbers can glissade in a standing-up position (also called 'boot-skiing'),[2] which has a greater risk and is unfeasible for longer slides.[1]

As glissading is typically done on the descent of a climb when climbers are tired, it can lead to serious injuries.[4] Glissading with crampons is particularly dangerous and can lead to broken ankles, but tired climbers sometimes forget to take them off.[5] High-speed glissading is also not advised and can make any self-arrest more difficult and also dangerous (e.g. such as dislocated shoulders);[4] it can also result in uncontrolled falls onto more dangerous terrain, and has been known to set off avalanches under certain conditions.[6] Glissading near crevasses (e.g. a glacier or a bergshrund) is also very dangerous, and even more so when attempted as a rope team.[2][4]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d Rossiter, Kel (18 May 2016). "Learn This: How to Glissade". Climbing. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Bloemsma, Katrina (2024). "Snow Travel Techniques for Mountaineering". REI. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  3. ^ Gantenbein, Douglas (24 February 2022). "What pants won't shred when I'm glissading down icy slopes?". Outside. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Pierson, James (8 June 2015). "How To: Glissade Safely". The Mountaineers. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Fall on Snow - Glissading with Crampons". American Alpine Journal. 11 (69): 42. 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  6. ^ Rappold, R. Scott (8 April 2009). "Glissading is fast and fun, but it also can be a shortcut to the emergency room". The Gazette. Retrieved 20 July 2024.

Further reading

edit
edit