Plunge stepping (walking down facing away from the mountain and plunging your heels into the snow) is a much better way to descend. It’s much safer, and it’s almost as fast.
Glissading is dangerous, you can ruin an expensive pair of pants, and you will get your ass cold and wet. Not only can you lose control and possibly get killed, you can hit an unseen rock and do yourself considerable damage. The cold, wet ass can be a big deal staggering back to your car in the dark in cold weather.
Newbies (including me, 28 years ago) always think glissading is cool and want to learn how to do it. I asked the guides or Raineer about it, and they more or less said what I said above. The only time I will glissade is when the snow is so deep and sloppy that I can’t really walk down it. And if the snow is that sloppy, you might want to be elsewhere because of avalanche danger. I probably haven’t glissaded in ten years.
Last edited by bobpickering; 05/21/15 12:37 PM.
