Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports 6/1/2014 Dayhike Summit by beginner hikers

Thanks for the report, John. Glad you made it safely.

Edit: Glissading (sliding down the chute on your pants) is:

NOT a good idea without an ice axe for braking. Hiking poles break, and do cannot properly slow you.
NOT a good idea while wearing spikes -- broken legs result.
NOT a good idea late in the day since that slope gets shaded by the mountain early, cold sets in, the chute ices up and becomes extremely fast and dangerous. Note that shade hits the bottom first, so it can be more icy at the bottom.

Glissading should ONLY be attempted in the right conditions: Not icy, with an ice axe, no crampons etc.

The person glissading in the video above was using his hiking poles. That only worked because the snow was soft enough that he did not need any tools for braking and slowing his descent.