UKC

When I was a lad no self respecting british mountaineer ever returned from a winter's day on the hill without having glissaded several hundred feet of the descent. Why has this efficient and entertaining method of descent fallen into disuse and what does it say about young people today

In reply to John Kelly:

Less snow due to global warming means more rocks to hit at high speed.

In reply to John Kelly:

Rarely managed more than a 100' glissade in the UK, I remember a glorious 3000' glissade almost to the door of the Conscrits Hut.

In reply to John Kelly:

Just managed a 1000 feet almost continuous glissade few days back Interrupted only by falling into a stream (twice) but totally worth it.

In reply to John Kelly:

Once did a monster glissade down the boring West flank of the Eiger; very steep, very fast.

I noticed crevasses zipping by and realised we were on thin terrain - I didn't want to self arrest in the middle of them so I made like a starfish and hurtled down whilst gently revolving, like a pin-wheel. My Tracksters got full of snow like I'd crapped myself, which of course I nearly had!

In reply to John Kelly:

I think the best I managed was about 300m, down Meall a' Ghiuthais in Torridon in 2008. A few days earlier I was doing the same in Coire nan Laogh with a friend when he plunged through some snow and got stuck hanging above a large drop into a snow-covered stream. He was lucky the snow stopped him, as I imagine he could have easily broken an angle.

In reply to John Kelly:

Surely everyone still glissades whenever possible, no? Been too long since I have.

In reply to John Kelly:

Ah, some great glissades; the most useful was from above the Gouter to the west of the hut, down to almost level with the Tete Rousse, (a descending guide suggested I follow him) took about two minutes, and avoided the death couloir and the queues.

From the Tour Noire col down to the Argentiere Glacier.

Down from the summit of Aonoch Mor to the restaurant, (although this resulted in a broken leg.)

The whole length of Number 5 gully.

To the right of Mam Tor face, which ignited a box of matches in my back pocket.

From the Col du Pelerins down to Plan d'Aiguille, although the lower half was totally out of control, does that count?

In reply to John Kelly:

Best ever was from between the two Buchaille Etive Mor summits all the way down to the valley. 500m?

I think the more elegant standing glissade died out with alpenstocks. Or maybe changed name to "skiing".

In reply to John Kelly:

wrecks your salopettes!

In reply to French Erick:

I've had some great gissades in Scotland, but as someone has said, buried burns are major, and, wet traps for the unwary!!

Back in the 1960's scree running was also a great sport, we once came down the Great Stone Shute on Sgurr Alaistair in just a few minutes. Would be considered very environmentally unfriendly these days.

In reply to MG:


Yes, I think I've done a similar one around there. It was great to get down off the tops so quickly and a lot of fun.

I've had far less successful glissades including the a*se being torn out of my trousers a couple of times, from hitting the odd rock just under the surface.

So, a possible reason for the decline in glissading could be the rising cost of new trousers.

In reply to John Kelly:

Most people seem to be talking about bum slide glissades, rather than the more elegant glissade on your feet.

The latter is harder to do, but definitely has its advantages.

In reply to The New NickB:


Agreed - bum slides don't count

It was much easier to do half a century ago when ice axes were 20ft long and you could lean back on it and use it like a rudder.

In reply to MG:

I don't ski, but do as often as I can I 'attempt' a crouching glissade on my size 11's.
( which usually ends in a sitting glissade , but on occasion ends in a spinning mess as was described earlier)

Not got the balance for a 'standing glissade', as it is defined:-

"Crouching glissade
One sits back and drags the spike of their ice axe (held in self-arrest grip) in the snow.

Sitting glissade
To perform a sitting glissade one sits down and slides on the slope usually holding on to an ice axe in a self-arrest position, especially when the run-out of the slope is in question.

Standing glissade
In this glissading position one has a better view of route hazards, and increased maneuverability over a sitting glissade."

Alas not enough snow on Goat Fell on Arran on Saturday to attempt any of the above.

In reply to The New NickB:

Back in the mid 80's on a Geoff Arkless course, I managed a few hundred yards of standing glissade down Corrie na Tulloch. Never managed it since then and Paramo is rubbish for a sitting glissade.

In reply to The New NickB:

I'd say that a glissade is done standing up, it's a bum slide otherwise. Both are termed glissade though.

Best standing glissade I've done was descending from Mt Blanc to the Grand Mulets hut. Slid elegantly (for me) down Les Grands Montets slope and at the bottom said to the French party sat there: "saves the knees doesn't it?" The reply was "I've just broken my leg glissading, can you call the helicopter out?"!

In reply to John Kelly:

I managed a good few hundred metres down the side of Y Garn to Cwm Idwal yesterday, my coccyx is paying for it today.

In reply to John Kelly:

As a boy aged 12 I ran down the Great Stone Chute and my Dad's clmbing buddy twisted his ankle badly on the bigger rocks at the bottom. AFAIK there are no stones left on it now.

In reply to Mike Peacock:



Some beauties in the west. Several 200m+ in Kintail.

In reply to John Kelly:

I try to enjoy it whenever possible, conditions for standing aren't so common in the Lakes these days but I've done it coming off the end of Helvellyn above Swirls when it firms up. Sitting is still glissading whether you want to call it bum-slide or not.

We were taught another way as well, when conditions are a bit too dodgy to let rip on your backside at full tilt you can descend very well in the self arrest position varying speed with the blade of the axe, works far better with a curved or straight pick than a banana. Descended Custs Gully in a party of 6 that way once, wonderful way down.

Coming down from the Scafell Pike path L of the face of Great End you can get some good long runs in good winters, but its far easier to find big runs in Scotland or the Alps of course.

One of the best slides ever was one Easter Sunday years ago from just under the cornice on Helvellyn where there is a snow bowl RH Viking Buttress right down to the Tarn - must have been late 80s, never seen those conditions since, was outrageous, in an orange survival bag.

In reply to Trangia:


Tremendous fun, though when conditions allow! ;-]

Best I remember were down almost the full length of No. 4 Gully after a great day on Comb Gully and more recently we did a massive bumslide down half the length of the Liathach descent after doing George Gully.

In reply to Mark Bannan:

Bum slide glissades still require skill on steep ground so not always the territory of ramblers!

Crouching and standing are hard - but I've managed and it doesn't ruin your salopettes either.

In reply to Jim C:

"There are three methods of descending a snow slope rapidly, the Standing Glissade, the Sitting Glissade and the Fall. These tend to follow one another in quick succession". (Patey, I think).

My best is over 1200m down the a gully on the North Face of Akhsoual in Morocco (with a brief gap to descend an exposed ramp and avoid a pitch) , although an 8 minute one from the top of Beinn Dorain to the road also brings back happy memories.

In reply to John Kelly:

Partner and I were attempting Bristly Ridge on Saturday but got too rimey for my liking (didn't have a rope with me). We got to the Great Pinnacle Gap, and decided to descend to Cwm Bochlwyd - was a couple hundred metres of mostly glissading. Only problem came when we realized we were precariously perched above an icy bit of slab. I tried to traverse past, but ended up sliding off (luckily into a big pile of thigh deep snow).
In future I will probably think twice before glissading - reason being is that it's all too easy to slide into something dangerous, even on super easy terrain with good visibility. If I'm not mistaken the technique has been involved in a number of accidents, and that's why it fell out of fashion.

In reply to SenzuBean:


I have always been wary of bum slides. I witnessed a nasty accident in the Alps where a roped party started bum sliding, lost control and got tangled up in the ropes of a party below jerking them off their feet. All of them then tumbled down the slope and into the bergschrund.

As a climber and a skier, I have always found you have a lot more control in a standing glissade.

In reply to John Kelly:

Standing glissades are one of the main reasons for going out in winter!! Advances in boots mean that the soles are solid enough to carve (in the right snow) and so you are almost skiing anyway - as one young lad pointed out to his mum as I came off the Ben a few years back - "look mum, that man's skiing but he's got no skis on!"

Also remember feeling particularly smug overtaking some skiers at the bottom of Number 4 on the Ben who had set off from the top before me, got as far down as they dared on their skis, and spent several minutes de-kitting, whilst I glissaded past them and hardly broke stride as I hit the grass and heather.

Bumslides definitely have their place though, and often end up being the result of an out of control standing glissade anyway!!

In reply to John Kelly:

Given suitable conditions, I'm a big fan of the head-first, on your chest "glissade". No need to remove crampons, provided you're careful, and you don't get snow up your trousers. Plus the view's a lot more exciting and the pictures look a lot better! Precise steering also very easy.

In reply to Iain Thow:


"Standing, sitting and uncontrolled" if my memory serves me,



Chris

In reply to Trangia:
to be perfectly frank anyone who doesn't think twice before anything but a trivial glissade is asking for trouble.

Think once - are the conditions right?
Think twice - is the location right?
Think thrice - which is the right method given the above being satisfied?

and if course if in a group - is everyone competent, sufficiently aware of the risks and confident enough to do it?

In reply to John Kelly:

Glissading down the gully from the descent off L'Index in Chamonix is one of my favourite mountaineering memories. Standing, of course.

In reply to John Kelly:

Isn't this what the bobsleigh track in the Red Burn is for?

The other variation on the theme is the one-footed-seated glissade. This needs the right angle and the right snow (both variable in relation to each other). One leg goes straight out front, and you tuck the other underneath you and so slide on the sole of one boot. Digging the heel of this foot in provides a brake.