Probably too late to help you out, but there's really no snow or ice in the chute. There's a sliver about 20 ft long (?) that you can walk around near the top. I was in the area about two weeks ago and heard a lot of rock fall. I reckon you'd feel like a bowling pin. My first thought was, "This is the famous U Notch"? It looked so ugly I didn't bother taking a picture.
Top of the notch where the backpacks are at the bottom of the picture:
http://i49.tinypic.com/vhcj1i.jpg
Lots of human sized bowling balls coming down:
http://i46.tinypic.com/1z4cokg.jpg