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If you were about to ask about conditions....

If you were about to ask about conditions....


Postby Caberfeidh » Mon May 11, 2015 7:23 pm

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Re: If you were about to ask about conditions....

Postby Docjames » Mon May 11, 2015 7:44 pm

Why do people think this sort of activity is acceptable?
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Re: If you were about to ask about conditions....

Postby Stu101 » Mon May 11, 2015 8:10 pm

F**kwits. Serious, why would you do that?
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Re: If you were about to ask about conditions....

Postby Border Reiver » Mon May 11, 2015 10:20 pm

Docjames wrote:Why do people think this sort of activity is acceptable?

It generally shouldn't be attempted by most folk, but with the right skills, right equipment, in the right place and at the right time, a controlled sitting glissade is a fun way of descending a snow slope.
I did consider the Red Burn route once, but decided that it was too risky and cramponned down instead.
I was once nearly wiped out by someone doing an uncontrolled lying glissade at the head of Coire Odhar in the Cairngorms. He was going very fast and had no ice axe. With the convex (at that point) slope, I never saw the result.
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Re: If you were about to ask about conditions....

Postby nathan79 » Tue May 12, 2015 11:00 am

I'd like to see a picture of those ravaged hands. :(
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Re: If you were about to ask about conditions....

Postby Michael Thomson » Tue May 12, 2015 11:52 am

Both sitting and standing glissades are a fine traditional practice and a key mountain skill to master.

On the other hand, glissading without an ice axe on a slope where you can't see the run out is a shortcut to significant disappointment.
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Re: If you were about to ask about conditions....

Postby Martin 282 » Tue May 12, 2015 1:05 pm

A fine way of descent if you know the route well & are skilled at stopping. Some time ago I descended 2000ft down Ben Nevis. Whilst really enjoying a fantastic glissade I had not realised I had headed to a point where the snow ended abruptly in a 12' drop. I flew through the air landing on my feet in soft snow. When I composed myself I turned around to see 2 open mouth walkers sat having lunch. I had gone clear over their heads. They were too shocked to return my friendly greeting.
I was one of those aforementioned f wits that day. Two days later I saw someone half carried off the Mamores after an easy slide. Another f wit. Lots of us about. :lol:
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Re: If you were about to ask about conditions....

Postby stuart mclovin » Tue May 12, 2015 1:26 pm

It will always happen - people just assume that if the weathers ok at ground level, it can't be that bad a bit further up the hill so go unprepared.

Fair to say these two will have learned their lesson going by the comment ; "Their hands looked like they had been through a mince grinder" .

ouch. :?
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Re: If you were about to ask about conditions....

Postby KatTai » Tue May 12, 2015 2:32 pm

Saw this in the paper today, sounded very painful! While I have Ben Nevis planned "soon"...it isn't until the weather improves a lot and there will be no bum sliding (it really upsets my dog when I slide down things anyway!). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that conditions will be much better in early June but if not, waiting a bit longer won't kill me but going up there in the wrong conditions might!
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Re: If you were about to ask about conditions....

Postby LeithySuburbs » Tue May 12, 2015 4:05 pm

Michael Thomson wrote:Both sitting and standing glissades are a fine traditional practice and a key mountain skill to master.

On the other hand, glissading without an ice axe on a slope where you can't see the run out is a shortcut to significant disappointment.

Agreed. Nothing wrong with bum sliding if done properly.

It does seem like we get a lot of these "how to suck eggs" releases from MRTs...
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Re: If you were about to ask about conditions....

Postby garyoppolis » Wed May 13, 2015 7:03 pm

"Never glissade with crampons on..." [Winter Skills: essential walking and climbing techniques; Cunningham and Fyffe; 2007]

"F*** it, it's only about 20 feet" [Gary; Beinn Chabhair; 2015]

Discussing the various merits of these philosophies four and a half hours later over a pint in the Drovers, we decided that the enormity and purpleness of my ankle was sufficient evidence that the former is indeed the better piece of advice.

glissading = fun

glissading in the way the the book explicitly tells you not to = bad times
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