Developing “The silence of snow” and going through those wonderful photographs has brought back a great many memories, especially of snow and ice when I was a child.  Part of my fondness for those times stems entirely from the magical play in winter wonderlands that can occur at no other time and under no other circumstances.  Snowball fights, for instance… and this word, which immediately jumped to mind.

glissade (glis·sade): / gli SAHD /
noun

(1) a controlled or skillful slide down a snowy slope without skis made by someone in a standing or crouching position
(2) a gliding or sliding ballet step

verb (intransitive)

(1) to slide down a snowy slope in a controlled or skillful manner without skis and in a standing or crouching position
(2) to perform a gliding or sliding ballet step

[From French glisser meaning “to slide, slip,” from an alteration of Old French glier meaning “to glide” (probably influenced by glacer meaning “to slide”), from Old High German glitan meaning “to glide.”]

Usage: One of the most common venues for winter entertainment in Dallas is to visit Flagpole Hill after it snows, which provides one of the best places to sled and glissade.