Glissade (climbing)

See also: Self-arrest

Mountaineers glissading down snow slopes

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]

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

• Crevasse rescue
• Self rescue (climbing)
• Glossary of climbing terms

References

1. Rossiter, Kel (18 May 2016). "Learn This: How to Glissade". Climbing. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
2. 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. 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

• Thomas, Mike; Chelton, Neil (2020). Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue. VDiff Climbing. ISBN 979-8641119205.
• The Mountaineers (2018). Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (9th ed.). Quiller Publishing. ISBN 978-1846892622.
• Zawaski, Mike (2013). Snow Travel: Climbing, Hiking, and Crossing Over Snow. The Mountaineers. ISBN 978-1594857201.

External links

• Dangers of Glissading, American Alpine Institute (2015)
• VIDEO: Climber Proves He Doesn't Need Skis With Clever Glissading Hack Powder Magazine (2023)
• How to Glissade, BackPack Magazine (2016)