[pct-l] glissading

[calliger@infolane.com (R.J.Calliger)]

At 2:22 PM -0800 1/8/01, Reynolds, WT wrote:
>Man this snow and ices stuff sounds HARD. Naturally, although I have no
>knowledge of this subject, I have an opinion. My advice to pct thruhikers is
>to leave Kennedy Meadows 2 weeks behind the pack and skip all this.

Well....

 It is a different world- yes, you can get a little wet, but with the correct
gear (polypro, sapndex stuff.no cotton!) it dries fast- but it is a
wonderful world...after miles
of summer boulder hoping one appreciate 5 feet of snow where you can
make it to the summit in 1/3 the time (with a firm snowpack that is-
and the Sierra Cement is perfect for that- most of the time you walk
on top of the snow w/o snowshoes or skies)...it is a total blast!
Especially the camping- no bugs, no bears, and few people to break
your (allbeit cold) solitude... and the crisp clarity of the winter
night sky is awesome. I could go on for pages describing the winter
beauty and even an occassional blizzard...you gotta try it!!

Rich



>-----Original Message-----
>From: CMountainDave@aol.com [mailto:CMountainDave@aol.com]
>Sent: Monday, January 08, 2001 11:27 AM
>To: pct-l@backcountry.net
>Subject: [pct-l] glissading
>
>
>Another facet of mountaineering that makes use of the feet to slow down is
>glissading. Any one with minimal knowledge of glissading will tell you that
>it is a natural thing to use your feet to brake and control your speed. The
>ice ax used as a rudder helps too, and helps you retain control, but it is
>the feet that really slow you down when you need to slow down. It's just
>like
>a car. Feet: regular brake. Ice ax: hand brake. The two best glissades I
>ever
>had were 1- on Mt Rainier. All the way from Steamboat prow near Camp Shurman
>
>to just above Glacier Basin in one slide a 5000 foot + drop (Yes legalists,
>I
>know, It's a no no to glissade on a glacier, but the situation was it was
>early June with at least four feet over the permanent ice. There was a
>glissade chute already present and I dare anyone who loves to glissade to
>resist the temptation, strict legalists excluded from the fun, of course.)
>2.
>Mt. Adams from near the summit down to lunch counter a 4000 + drop. Talk
>about a real gas!! Better than anything Mr. Disney has to offer. Novices:
>when glissading make sure you hold the ice ax so that if it catches and
>snaps
>back towards your head for any reason your knuckles will hit your face
>instead of the adze or pick. I saw this happen to a woman once, but
>apparently she was right with the mountain because she only got a slightly
>chipped tooth. We teased and called this wonderful person snaggletooth from
>then on.
>   Joanne - you peak bagging wonder you (she has 500 + summits) how about
>some sage advice on how to glissade for newbies?
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