Stay at home

[Caberfeidh]

Read this, learn, don't faff about.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-32688642

[Docjames]

Why do people think this sort of activity is acceptable?

[Stu101]

F**kwits. Serious, why would you do that?

[Border Reiver]

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.

[nathan79]

I'd like to see a picture of those ravaged hands.

[Michael Thomson]

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.

[Martin 282]

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.

[stuart mclovin]

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.

[KatTai]

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!

[LeithySuburbs]

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...

[garyoppolis]

"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