New Hobby: Snowshoeing

[Mike]

Re: New Hobby: Snowshoeing

In many instances, if you are walking on packed trails, you don't even need snowshoes. We get Yabo idiots who will snow shoe over cross country ski trails and people who will walk on cross country ski trails. That infuriates me. If you are going to snowshoe what is the point of walking on trails??? Snowshoeing is for off-trail. The last thing that a snowshoe clad person should do is walk on a ski trail. For those folks, please - stay home and watch videos of snowshoeing. Stay off the trails.

[hwc1954]

Re: New Hobby: Snowshoeing

In many instances, if you are walking on packed trails, you don't even need snowshoes.

Around here, that depends on how much new snow has fallen on the packed trails. There's a base of several feet of packed snow and ice, but there could be several inches or more of new powder snow that makes it a real slog with the MicroSpikes. I usually bring both and often switch between the spikes and the snow shoes depending on the conditions I find. A lot of times, it's 50% / 50%. About half the people on snowshoes, about half with spikes. On these mountain trails, I generally stick with the spikes as long as I can, but once I start sinking in or slipping and sliding on powder, it's time for the snowshoes. The smaller MSR snowshoes are popular because they are sort of in between.


Ski tracks aren't an issue on these mountain trails. Too steep.

I do snow shoe on one flatland trail nearby -- nice rolling terrain. It's very popular with both skiiers and snowshoers after a big snow. The snow shoers stay off the ski tracks, where they are clearly defined.

If you are going to snowshoe what is the point of walking on trails???

In the mountains, there's really no other place to walk except on the trails. It's pretty steep terrain:

People do bushwack off the trails in the summer, but it's pretty dangerous in winter. "Spruce traps" are common. What looks like a small evergreen shrub is really the top of a 12 foot spruce buried in deep snow, mostly hollow below the surface. When you step on a spruce trap, even with snow shoes, you fall in. Can be pretty hard to extricate. I've been in one up to my waist just two feet off a trail. Not recommended!

Not to mention, you would have to be strong as an ox to break trail up these mountains bushwhacking through the trees and deep snow.

[Mike]

Re: New Hobby: Snowshoeing

HWC1954. Thank you for the slide show and the detailed explaination. The slide show is beautiful. Your snow looks a little heavier than ours in Wisconsin. In the dead of winter, our snow is pretty fluffy from top to bottom due to the dry cold. We don't have mountains like that, but we do have glacial till with eskers and drumlins and large kettles that can be very thrilling to ski on and provide enough incline to kill yourself on or at least break something.

Around here, we have a problem with numbnuts showshoeing on ski trails.

I prefer cross country skiing on a trail over snowshoeing. To me, it is just more fun. I use showshoes primarily to sled camp gear into the bush, but my skis are lashed to my sled, so as soon as I get camp set up, I ski.

Some years here, we get a lot of snow. Last year, for example, we had about four or five feet of accumulation and it was all fluffy. That makes for difficult snowshoeing even with big snowshoes. After shlorging around in deep powder, it doesn't take long before you start asking yourself why you are doing it.

[hwc1954]

Re: New Hobby: Snowshoeing

And, you've got a lot of opportunities to snow shoe across frozen lakes. In my limited experience, that's where you often need more "floation" to stay on top of drifted snow. You also have more sustained deep frigid cold than we do in New England. Even in the mountains, it pretty regularly cycles up near freezing for daytime highs. Although it was 11 degrees when that picture of me in the blue down jacket was taken. Cold crunchy snow that day!

[dougnash]

Re: New Hobby: Snowshoeing

Costco has these on sale right now for $99


http://www.costco.com/Yukon-Charlie'...100133774.html

[hwc1954]

Re: New Hobby: Snowshoeing

Sierra Trading Post has those Yukon Chariey snowshoes, too. $100 for the 25 inch version ($65 if you get one of their constant 35% off coupons from the e-mail list). $118 for the 30 inch version ($77 after discount):

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/sno...arlies~b~3163/

[Mike]

Re: New Hobby: Snowshoeing

I was surprised to find many pair of used/antique snow shoes of excellent quality at local antique and thrift stores for under $100. These are gorgeous wood and rawhide snowshoes.

In my opinion, the old wood and rawhide snowshoes are excellent. The only shortcoming is the bindings. Add modern bindings to an old pair of snowshoes and you have someting really special

[Malamute]

Re: New Hobby: Snowshoeing

^ ^ I bought a nice traditional style set at a pawn shop for about $35, though it was a few years ago. The nice thing was they had neoprene webs, so no worry about the rawhide and treating it or the dogs chewing it. They looked very similar to rawhide shoes, but less maintenance (like almost none).

[Mike]

Re: New Hobby: Snowshoeing

^ ^ I bought a nice traditional style set at a pawn shop for about $35, though it was a few years ago. The nice thing was they had neoprene webs, so no worry about the rawhide and treating it or the dogs chewing it. They looked very similar to rawhide shoes, but less maintenance (like almost none).

Wow, what a great deal you scored. IMO, the so called advances of modern snowshoes really aren't that big of a deal with the exception of bindings which are much better. Rawhide isn't that difficult to maintain. If the rawhide gets spongy, just varnish them.

I have heard that animals might chew the rawhide from your snowshoes or that porcupine will chew the salt from axe handles or chew up skis. I have spent a lot of time in the winter wilderness and the only time I had trouble was with small animals getting into my food - maybe chewing a hole through a pack.