Glissaded down on Sunday 6/15. The snow did not make it all the way to trail crest, so we had to climb down the dirt and rocks to get to the snow line (maybe 50 feet). My friend and I had our ice axes, but had never glissaded or done self arrest before. We felt somewhat comfortable since we knew the technique from research online.
I didn't realize how tall and steep it was until I was a few hundred feet down when I suddenly remembered I was afraid of heights. Holy crap that is a long way down and steep as hell! We just took it slow and kept practicing self arrest all the way down. We got the hang of pretty quickly, and I can now say I am pretty comfortable doing self arrest from that position. The ride was pretty freaky to me, but maybe its just because I'm a wimp. My friend said he would have gone faster if I hadn't have been on top of him to slow down.
I can't imagine doing it without an ice axe. Once you get going, there is no way to stop except arresting. I don't even understand how you could use hiking pole to stop yourself. And this time of year there are big piles of rocks waiting to stop you uncomfortably at the bottom if you are unable to stop yourself.
Does anyone know how steep and tall it is? We were guessing around 2000 feet and 45 degrees.
Also, we had to scramble over rocks for maybe a half mile to find a way to Trail Camp. What is the easiest way to get over there when you get to the bottom of the glissade?
Thanks to all the posters we were somewhat prepared. Thank you!
