Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Glissading with crampons

It was in April 2000, and two friends and I were descending after a day climb. The top few inches of snow was soft all day so we didn’t really need our crampons, but they gave a little added traction while walking. Of course we knew better than to leave them on for glissades, but the snow was so soft and the going so slow that it didn’t seem a problem.

The long glissade below Trail Crest was without incident, but the next good one--down to Mirror Lake—was a different story. After about 200 feet I hit an unexpected patch of ice and speeded up instantly. The outer points of my right crampon caught on the ice and my foot everted. My fibula was put into instant compression, resulting in a spiral fracture. I went head-over-heels with my ankle feeling like fire, but had the presence of mind to successfully arrest without crashing into the rocks below.

My friends were kind enough to split the contents of my pack, and I hobbled down to the Portal. I spent the next six weeks in a cast, and it was two months before I was back in the mountains. The bone healed, but there was irreversible soft tissue damage to my foot and ankle. I must now wear a brace, otherwise I cannot walk for more than an hour or so without pain.

In retrospect, I think the wind had blown the soft upper layer of snow away at that spot, leaving the older hard crust exposed. At any rate, it was unexpected.

The picture on the left was taken the next morning, before I went into the ER. The X-ray is a lot clearer in the original, but I think you can see the fracture:

<img src=http://www.ridgenet.net/~rockwell/Fractured%20fibula%20combo.jpg>

The rest of us already know that it's not a good idea to glissade while wearing crampons and from what you wrote obviously you knew as well. I wish you a speedy healing process so you can get back to the moutains soon but it's kinda hard to feel sorry for you.

I think he's healed by now Bdoggy.

While most of us know you shouldn't be glissading
while wearing crampons some people may benefit with seeing the results. Plus its dangerous to be glissading under any circumstance but most of us do it including me.

Ugh..Bob R..that x-ray brings back memories for me. I fractured my fibula in the same "torsional" way while playing a game of pick-up football in college. My foot got stuck in the turf when I got tackled and as my body twisted, something had to give. My fibula and ankle both decided to give at the same time. I still shudder when I remember the sound and the sight of my foot laying 90 degrees to my knee-cap. I don't know how you managed to hobble down on that injury..incredible!

Thanks for sharing your example of what can happen glissading wearing crampons. On my trip last week to Mount Washington our guide had us remove our prior to descent and we passed a group of 3 guys that was glissading with theirs still on. Our guide just shook his head in wonder...

BeachAV8R

Well doggone! I didn't realize I was in an exclusive club with Bob R and Beach. I broke my right ankle similar to Beach's over 30 years ago in a stupid motorcycle accident. Broke the fibula and dislocated the ankle joint (foot was at a right angle outward from the end of my leg, toes still pointing forward)

I was back jogging in about six months, I think. But now I have some arthritis in the ankle and had a surgery to remove a spur from the area in January 04. Contrary to the orthopaedist's prediction that I would be walking "in a week", it took 14 months before most of the soreness from the operation went away. But I managed a 4-day Kearsarge to Whitney last summer at 6 months with the help of walking sticks.

So Bob and Beach, watch out for those spurs and arthritis in 30 years! ;-)

I had a bout with stupidity and glissaded with crampons on. It was the last slide I did coming down Mt. Badden-Powell two years ago. I caught a point which folded my leg up and my rear points put a hole in seat of my Gore Tex pants and ended up with sprained ankle which took six months to heal.

I'm glad I didn't really screw up like you, Bob ;-).

Bill

In some of our photo albums you will see we used to glissade with our crampons on. Fortunately we didn't get hurt doing it, since we often slid down in the afternoon after things were all mushy.

That is one of the many things I have learned from reading on this board....take your crampons off glissading down...much safer.

After climbing Shasta, which has some great glissading to get down quickly, I was talking to a ranger. He said that the #1 source of climbing injuries on the mountain were by far from people glissading and badly spraining or fracturing their ankles. It's always worth the extra 5 minutes to take off your crampons before mounting up - about the easiest insurance you can get in the mountains.

Speaking of Shasta, here's a picture of a rescue:

<img src=http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/photos/2584321-S.jpg>

The injured climber had removed his crampons, but failed to maintain control. He ended up hitting himself in the head with his axe and also broke his ankle.

I agree that Shasta has some great glissading, but you do need to focus on keeping control. There have been a number of occasions where I've taken "the long way down" because I was solo and didn't like the thought of being injured while glissading alone.

I've broken both legs while out climbing/hiking. One time was when in my teens when we had swung across a ravine into a cave. On exiting the cave, I slipped just enough to slam into the opposite side of the ravine, breaking my right leg below the knee. I had to walk out. Not fun.

The second was climbing in Joshua Tree. My climbing partner had gone up a long way on one piece of pro. I mentioned to him that I thought it would be a good idea to get something else in. No sooner then I had finished my comment, he gets "sewing machine legs," and pops off the rock. I tried to "rip" in the slack, but had no chance to stop the fall with the rope. My next thought was to try and keep his head from hitting the ground. He ended up hitting me on my left shoulder, and as I went down to the left, I heard my left ankle break. He shook off the fall and was fine. I spent three days in hospital getting my foot pinned back together, and another eight weeks in a cast.

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<a href="http://piotrowski.smugmug.com">Smugmug Photo Albums</a>

I remember climbing Middle Pal with Carl Heller and you back in about 1971 or 1972. Peter Woodman was on the trip also. I had my shiny new crampons-which I still have never used along, but I never put them on to cross the glacier to the chute. I remember you and Carl syaing they were'nt needed, and more harm could come from misuse. Came across this thread and made me think of that day. -Nielsen

Paiute, I'm curious about who you are. Peter Woodman was with me on Mt. Russell in 1977, when I ruptured my Achilles tendon on the summit. Bad things can happen in the mountains but, fortunately, the good things far outweigh the bad.

I knew an Arnie Nielson, PhD chemist at China Lake. You his son Paul? This climb is missing from my log book. I would like to know if you remember anyone else on the climb, and to hopefully tie down the date more accurately.

Haven't looked at this site in a while. Yes I'm Paul, and I was very fortunate to go on trips with CLMRG during the summers of the early 70's. Can't remember much more about the Middle Pal trip, and I could be wrong about you being there. I live in Bakersfield now and work in the oilfield. I wrote down the dates of the climbs in Roper's guidebook, but for Middle Pal it's blank.