glissade
noun·/ɡlɪˈsɑːd/
A swift descent down a steep slope, especially on snow or scree, by sliding in a controlled rush. Half travel, half surrender. Where a slide may be accidental, a glissade is chosen: gravity enlisted as technique.
They saved their legs for the climb and took a glissade down the couloir, laughter skimming ahead of them.
verb
To descend in this manner. To slide down deliberately and, ideally, safely.
At the last pitch of snow, she glissaded to the basin, boots carving brief parentheses in white.
Etymology
From French glissade, from glisser “to slide,” ultimately from a Frankish (Germanic) root akin to English glide. The word keeps the grace note of the act: descent as motion made elegant.
Related Words
glissandoa musical “slide”; kin by root and gesture
couloira gully where glissades often occur
screeloose stone that can turn a descent into a slide
arêtea ridge; the high country that makes glissades possible