Glissade (climbing)
Template:Short description Template:See also Template:Multiple image 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.<ref name=CL1/><ref name=REI/>
Most glissading is done in a seated position (and ideally with a water-proof durable surface on which to sit and slide),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=CL1/> Crampons are explicitly not used while glissading as they can cause serious injury.<ref name=CL1/> Some climbers can glissade in a standing-up position (also called 'boot-skiing'),<ref name=REI/> which has a greater risk and is unfeasible for longer slides.<ref name=CL1>Template:Cite web</ref>
As glissading is typically done on the descent of a climb when climbers are tired, it can lead to serious injuries.<ref name=TM/> Glissading with crampons is particularly dangerous and can lead to broken ankles, but tired climbers sometimes forget to take them off.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> High-speed glissading is also not advised and can make any self-arrest more difficult and also dangerous (e.g. such as dislocated shoulders);<ref name=TM>Template:Cite web</ref> it can also result in uncontrolled falls onto more dangerous terrain, and has been known to set off avalanches under certain conditions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Glissading near crevasses (e.g. a glacier or a bergshrund) is also very dangerous, and even more so when attempted as a rope team.<ref name=REI>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=TM/>
See also
References
Further reading
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)