A fall on snow can accelerate in just a few seconds, making immediate action critical. While an ice axe is the preferred tool for self-arrest, there are situations where you may have to stop yourself without one. If you slip while walking or lose control during a glissade, your first priority is to get onto your stomach with your head uphill and your feet downhill. This position allows you to use your entire body to create friction against the snow.
There are three primary no-axe self-arrest techniques, all of which rely on increasing friction between your body and the snow. The most effective—and the easiest to learn—is the push-up technique. After rolling onto your stomach, press your hands firmly into the snow as though you’re doing a push-up while simultaneously driving the toes of your boots into the slope. Keep your body low, your head uphill, and apply steady pressure rather than making sudden or frantic movements. This technique engages your arms, chest, and feet to create as much resistance as possible, helping you slow quickly.
A second method uses your elbows instead of your hands. Dig both elbows into the snow beneath your chest, raise your hips slightly, and drive your toes into the slope. Lifting your hips concentrates more of your body weight onto your elbows and feet, increasing the amount of friction you can generate.
The third technique builds on the elbow arrest by attempting to pile snow in front of your forearms. As you slide, angle your forearms slightly inward so they gather snow into a small mound beneath your chest. The accumulating snow increases resistance and can help bring you to a stop more quickly, particularly in softer snow conditions.
Of the three methods, the push-up technique consistently proves to be the most effective in many snow conditions. It’s also surprisingly intuitive. I discovered this while backpacking with my pre-teen children on gentle glacial slopes. With almost no instruction, they were able to glissade several hundred feet and repeatedly stop themselves using the push-up technique. Its simplicity makes it an excellent emergency skill for anyone traveling on snow.
If you’re glissading intentionally, don’t wait until you’ve built up speed before trying to stop. Practice slowing and stopping frequently on low-angle slopes so the movement becomes automatic. Learning these techniques in a controlled environment will prepare you to react instinctively if you ever experience an unexpected fall.
It’s important to understand that a no-axe self-arrest is far less effective on hard snow or ice, where your hands, clothing, and boots may provide little grip. These techniques should be viewed as emergency measures—not replacements for carrying an ice axe. The best defense is prevention: bring the proper equipment whenever conditions warrant, know how to use it, and avoid glissading on slopes where you cannot safely stop before reaching rocks, cliffs, crevasses, or other hazards.
Learning snow travel from experienced instructors can make the difference between a close call and a successful day in the mountains. For more than 50 years, the American Alpine Institute has taught climbers, skiers, and mountaineers the skills they need to travel safely in alpine terrain. From self-arrest and glissading techniques to crampon use, ice axe skills, and route finding, AAI’s professional guides emphasize hands-on instruction and real-world decision-making. Whether you’re preparing for your first snow climb or building the skills needed for bigger objectives like Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan, or Denali, AAI’s teacher-first approach will help you become a safer, more capable, and more independent mountain traveler.