Mount Whitney 1200 vertical foot Glissade - "The Chute"
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- Mount Whitney ascent June 13-14 2017. After an unusually snowy winter, elevations about 10,000 feet were still covered in mid-June. The 99 switchbacks normally used to get to Trail Crest were inaccessible, so we climbed "The Chute" instead. 1200 vertical feet over ~1/2 mile... and what comes up must come down...
That was scary! Im going up in August and I hope its not like that. Thanks for the thrill!
You should be all set by August! You'll get to suffer through the 99 switchbacks instead.
awesome thank you for your time. be safe out there
My friend and I summited Whitney one year in spring up that chute and glissaded down as well. Earlier while camping at trail camp, we met a couple of brothers who were from the mid-west (they were nice enough to pitch their tents mere yards from us even though there was ample real estate available). The next day we passed them as were coming down the summit; they were headed up. One was suffering from the effects of altitude. We tried to talk them out of summiting, but they persisted, even declining our offer for snacks and water. They said they intended to glissade down, but lacking axes, were going to put their crampons on their hands. Again, we advised them against that. Further down the trail, but before the chute, we passed a couple of rangers and told them of the brothers' plans (yeah, we ratted them out). A couple hours later we watched as the rangers guided them down the chute, kind of back-stepping down it and making steps for the brothers to follow.
thats not snitching,you potentially saved their lifes.i did similar thing just recently at mt baldy bowl few months ago,i didnt knew it was the route,just seen bunch of people going up this route with axes,crampons and stuff and i just climbed in my gym sneakers and shorts lol,at the very top,maybe last 100 feet i felt like - this is steep,i cant go down and its sketchy to go up,so i had to go spiderman mode and somehow got to the top while these guys were questioning if im sane lol ,i thought its piece of cake until it got to 45% angle lol,there is lady just died week before me or so,sliding off this shit.rip
@@user-sk9hl7si7l Going down is always more dangerous than going up. Going up the mountain, gravity slows you down. Going down the mountain, gravity speeds you up. Many learn this the hard way. In my limited mountaineering and rock-climbing experience, the descents have always been scarier than the ascents, oftentimes because they are un-roped or on very exposed terrain. I'm glad it worked out for you. I've done the bowl a few times, and it gets much steeper at the top.
One of the most unnerving things ive ever had to do was throw myself down that mountain. That chute is MONSTEROUS!! Going up is daunting and watching others around you fall and plummet out of sight is terrifying during the hour and a half ascent. Then coming to terms with throwing yourself down the same slope after coming back down from the summit is an absolute mind fuck.
I am enjoying watching this. I got to do the chute a couple of times back in the 80’s when I was young and in shape enough to make it a day hike. Didn’t use an ice axe just used my coat as the sled and enjoyed the ride down.
Buddy and I did the same a month after this. It was still covered. We probably started a little higher with nothing to slow us down. Good times
That snow chute is ridable until around July when it melts. I used my backpack frame as a brake rudder to slow me down.
Looks fun! I was just reading a novel and the guy loses his axe while glissading, spins out of control and smashes face first into a pile of snow that turns out to be a boulder. No helmet because it’s 1925. They just carted him off in a stretcher. Ok back to reading!
I was so happy to glissade 4k vert down Mt. Shasta in July. I rode that snow as far as I could, even on small tongues of snow. Good to get lower fast...without steps!
did u see any bers or cougarz ?
how long it took u to get to the top and down ?
@@user-sk9hl7si7l no wildlife to speak of. One fullish day from Bunny Flat trail head.
Awesome video! Just glissaded down Whitney for my first glissade ever.
Thanks for posting. Going in late July this year 2023. and switchbacks may still be covered.(similar to when you went years ago. Hope it either clears up or there is enough snow to glissade down th chute or it will be a muddy hike down.
My favorite climb ever. What a payoff. Incredible views and you get to slide down a 1,000 ft chute to get down. I can't recommend Mt Whitney enough.
I was so temped to do this but i had no idea about how to control my descent. Looks fun I need some more experience with my ice axe.
Sweet ride, 2:30 is a good example of why you should drag the spike not the pick. Friend in front lost his for same reason looking at 2:50 the way it’s dug in.
Using the spike to arrest is not a good idea
@@es0xHe meant using the spike to control glissade speed
I heard a story of a guy doing this too late in the day and as some may not know, the snow turns to ice. Ended up getting life flighted out of there and skin grafted big time.
The camera must not even come close to do ing ustice to the steepness of the slope if you are able to slide down at such speeds to need an icepicj to control your decent
Awesome man, we were there two weeks after this. The chute was a slide from all the use. I'd say it was 4 feet wide, 2 feet deep. A little more ice than this though, was a cold night, ripped a damn hole in my pants. There were alot of people turning away in once they got to trail camp. Me and my fiance have never used an ice axe, just figured it out and slid down. Was an amazing rush, so fun.
Very cool video! I might wait until August, hopefully the switchbacks are clear by then.
Im going june 5th. Only thing im worried about is the final 400 .. going up and down that 400 is on ny mind
glissading is done while standing 👍
So is this down the final 400?
Awesome video
Did this in 1973, before it was called anything or before many did it. We were just being lazy and didn't want to do the steps to got down. . . LOL
That is alot of snow. Seen it like that in 2011.
Freaking AwesomE!
The top is real steep especially if you skip pass trail and go right on way up.
The express route down. Thanks for the ride. I've stood at the top of the switchbacks looking down that slope wondering what that would be like. I'd worry about my butt hitting a concealed rock. Getting up there must have been a struggle with all that snow on the trail.
The climb was a bitch! Two hours up, 10 minutes down.
yeah to prevent losing the axe i have been trained to like use the bottom point to control the speed with arm under it and only do a super solid (collarbone and all) arrest when it gets out of control, that looks step af tho lmao not sure it would have worked here
I remember doing this a few years ago. It was epic! Newbies need to watch out for icy areas though.
@Susan Malcher And boulders, crevasses and cliffs. Actually I’m a keyboard glissader so I have no clue what I'm talking about
@@paul6925 there’s no crevasses on a snow slope, that’s more of a glacier thing. Probably not more than a couple feet of snow on there at most
That's not glissading, that's a butt slide. Glissading is like skiing but with boots only, no skis.
Awesome vid! I'm about to day hike this with a group on July 16th, and I'm thinking we will have climb "the chute" as well. It didn't look too bad when you were going down, do you think it would be ok to attempt this as first timers if we have the proper equipment?
You should be fine! The glissade is a relatively safe one, it doesn't run out directly into rocks or anything. You should practice on some smaller hills with an ice axe and make sure you know how to self arrest and glissade effectively. I'd definitely bring crampons for the way up.
Thanks for the quick reply, very helpful!! I was thinking the same, we might practice at the bottom of the chute before attempting the full way up. I saw you also tethered your ice axe, did you just use a string? Did you take classes on how to self arrest/glissade prior to Whitney? Thanks!!
Just a piece of 550 cord... I would definitely tether your axe, if you lose it on a glissade or in a situation where you're trying to self arrest after a slip and fall your day could turn ugly. I didn't take any classes, I have some prior experience with snow travel and hiking in winter conditions. I'm sure it can't hurt if you're not comfortable... 14,000 feet is no place to figure out you've got a gear problem!
Agreed! Thanks again :)
I just climbed this yesterday and wanted to add that when I did it, there was less snow, so more exposed rocks. It was still relatively safe, and if you go farther to the right side, it's steeper but with less chance of hitting rocks. However, it's getting warm enough that the snow melted to slush, then refroze to ice, making a real glissade pretty difficult. I just awkwardly slid and stopped most of the way down. I also tethered my ice axe with a piece of 5 mm accessory cord and that seems to work fine.
How long did it take you to climb that section?
2.5 hours or so
Damn, left the skis at the car? Lol jkjk.
💯💯👍👍🏻👍👍🏻👍👍🏻
Bring a Saucer Sled next time
Would def go second to avoid the crevasse that the first guy falls in to.😆😆😆😆
4:03, etc, your use of words is in opposite contrast to the majestic beauty of this place. Be more respectful, more appreciative and more grateful for the beauty of nature.
Your poor balls
With the exception of the unneeded stupid language, that's one Awesome ride.
40intrek
Ok jerry falwell, sure thing