Snowshoes

[Optimist]

Snowshoes are a pretty essential tool for getting around on foot in deep snow. They can be a fun way to get out and get exercise as well.

I am very far from an expert on snowshoes. I've been using them for years, but I've never spent much time researching them. I've only ever used what was cheap or given/loaned to me.

I spent a decent amount of time snowshoeing last year, All small trips of less than five miles. I'm fairly certain I went out more than fifty times but less than a hundred, but I didn't really keep track. These were on average ~1.5 miles I'd guess. I'd like to go even more next year. I also use them a number of times every year just for doing chores around the farm.

I like to keep a pair in my car just in case and that's frequently come in handy. Not so much for emergencies but if I need to take care of some sort of task out in the snow I can get there without either going home to get them or wading through the snow and getting cold and wet and miserable. I do think they could be considered essential vehicle emergency supplies if a person was going down back roads where they might get snowed in and have to walk out. A number of times I've seen or come across cars way off the road and have had to wade out through the snow to check on the people and help out a few times (nothing gruesome thank goodness). I didn't have snowshoes each of those times and it has lead to snow long days wearing wet clothes at work. (I really need to be better about keeping a change of clothes at work, but that's a different topic.)

If someone lives in an area where the snow gets knee deep I think snowshoes are a very good item to have. You can use gaiters and snowpants to keep snow out, but just the act of walking through deep snow is extremely slow and tiring. I didn't have my own snowshoes growing up and so many times I'd be in a situation where the snow was super deep (often over my head) and had a crust on top that wouldn't support my weight. So with every small movement forward I would break through and sink down deep, but at the same time the thick layer of crust on top of the snow would totally prevent moving forward through it so I would have to climb back on top only to break through again. About the only way to proceed in that situation is flop and drag yourself forward on top of the crust like a seal or walrus flopping around on the beach. This helps distribute your body weight better so you don't break through as bad and sink as deep and you can kind of inch your way forward. It is EXTREMELY tiring and if I had to do more than get to an outbuilding I wouldn't have made it those times. (Also any exposed skin can get scratched and cut by the broken crusty snow, not in a serious way but it's no pleasant either.)

[Optimist]

Skis can also work well to give extra surface area for your feet. If the snow conditions are right skis are also super fast. You can move at a fast running speed with less effort than walking, where as snowshoes are slower and more tiring than regular walking. They are also often quieter than snowshoes if that is a concern. I used to ski a lot. My father was a skiing fanatic who built custom trail groomers and I helped clear many of the local ski trails during summers as a kid. I skied many hundreds of miles a year during some of my younger years. I got into snowshoeing when I was older and I enjoy it way more. It's not as fast, but In like to frequently stop and look around and enjoy the view. From a practical standpoint snowshoes are also far less dependent on snow conditions, way easier to get through rough and brushy off-trail terrain in, are basically always designed to work fit regular footwear so special boots are not a concern and they are a lot shorter for storage purposes. I'd like to get back into cross-country skiing but from a practical standpoint I think if someone could only have one or the other snowshoes would be the way to go.

I say they are less dependent on snow conditions than skiis, which is true (and you don't have to wax them) but snow conditions still play a big factor. Snow varies incredibly depending on the current and previous weather. I'll try to break it down into some broad categories.

If there is a good crust on top of the snow you can move about as easily as walking on dry ground (with awkward weights strapped to you feet). The crust can come from either the snow getting warmer during the day and significantly colder at night (bright sunlight can make this happen even when temps are still well below freezing) or from the wind.

If there is no crust you sink in deeper. The snow is usually either dry and powdery or wet and sometimes sticky. When you sink into the snow dry, powdery snow will often fall in on top of your snowshoes. If you have a design with woven leather or cables they just come right back up through the snow. If you have more of a solid piece of fabric on your snowshoes you have to lift it up, but this now is generally so light it's not a big deal. I would say this is the most predictable type of snow in terms of knowing how large of snowshoes (larger snowshoes = more surface area) you need to keep yourself up. Sinking in a little ways isn't a big deal. The deeper you sink in, the more effort is required

If the snow is wet it often won't cave in, your snowshoes will just punch neat holes in the snow. Generally speaking the warmer the snow is the further you will sink in, but it can be hard to predict. If you're sinking in really deep it is extremely hard work, and the deeper you go the likelier it is that the sides of the holes you're punching in will cave in. When that happens you have to lift up all that snow on top of your snowshoe (it usually sticks to itself so the woven designs are no benefit in this scenario). If this is happening frequently it's so difficult to get around you might as well stay where you are if at all possible. Wet snow can also get sticky, which means it starts building up on your snowshoes like sticky mud on your boots and they dang heavy fast.

Years ago I was trying to setup a target for shooting a rifle. The snow was warm and I was punching down to knee level, it was frequently caving in on top of my snowshoes and it was sticky. After a little bit I stopped putting my feet in the bindings. I would set the snowshoe out in front of me, step down on it and sink in. The snow would cave in on top. I would then dig out the snow from on top of my other snowshoe with my hands, set it down in front and take another step. I was worried I was going to die of exhaustion within sight of my house.

Another category of snow is what people around here call "rotten" which is essentially the extreme form of warm, wet snow that has turned to slush. It's pretty common in the spring when there's been weeks of mostly above-freezing temperatures. This snow also often has chunky ice crystals in it. It won't hold you up for anything, but will sure make moving through it difficult. Especially if the ground is starting to thaw underneath in which case you can get the double-whammy of slushy snow and soupy mud. If these are the conditions and you need to move through it or die, you might consider the option of death as preferable. (I think in other places they might use the term "rotten" to refer to spring snow that has a lot of mud and dirt and other stuff showing through it and staining it. Here people are usually referring to its inability to be traveled on.)

When you walk on snow it packs it down which essentially creates a crust. Going on established trails that you or someone else has made is way, way easier than breaking new trail. If you're in a group you can take turns breaking trail so that no one person gets too exhausted. I might have made warm, wet snow sound worse than dry powdery snow before but one advantage is that it packs down way more and creates a much firmer crust. If I know I'm going to use this particular trail again I'd much rather the snow be warm and wet, as long as it's not sticky. If it's above freezing and set to get colder I make a push to go out and break as much trail as possible and then the packed down snow freezes into a nice, icy trail.

If you frequently use a trail you can get it packed down well enough that eventually you can walk on it without snowshoes at all. Whether you can walk on it often depends on temperature. Usually it's getting colder during the night then starts warming up after the some comes out. This means the snow is often the coldest in the morning and the warmest in the afternoon. When felling trees for firewood my grandfather would often snowshoe (or later snowmobile all around a tree he was planning to cut in the afternoon, creating the trail to it and escape trails to keep from getting squished. Then he would go out to actually cut it in the morning and would often be able to walk to it without snowshoes and have good ways to run if it didn't fall the way he expected.

On the other hand you have to keep this in mind and be careful when heading out in the morning. You might start out with a solid crust in the morning, get really far out really fast, but then as it warms up the crust might start giving out on you  and it could take a lot more time and effort to get back to where you started.

[Optimist]

Ski poles/trekking poles can be super handy when snowshoeing. I also take them when breaking trail. It's easy to trip and fall on snowshoes, and they're good for keeping balance. Often times you're walking over unseen bushes and fallen trees, and this can really trip you up, especially if a branch pokes up through your snowshoes without you noticing which can put you right on your face. Not only do they help you keep from falling over in the first place, they make getting up when you fall down a lot easier. A big problem when you fall down in the snow is that when you try to push yourself up your arms just sink down into the snow. It can be very difficult and tiring. Poles can really help with this, especially if they reach all the way to the ground. They're also good for keeping balance while hovering on one foot trying to get a snowshoe back on and are super helpful on steep hills.

Cheap used ski poles can be found at used sporting goods stores (at least in Alaska and I imagine other snowy places). You want shorter ones than you would actually use for skiing. They are extra weight to carry and gripping things in your hands reduces circulation, making your hands colder. When I'm going on established trails I often leave them behind. I would really like to upgrade to the folding/telescoping variety so I don't have to carry them in my hands but I always have them with me for unexpected falls or if the snow gets worse than I expected.

Once very nice thing about snowshoeing as a woods activity is that if you are breaking trail you are leaving tracks behind. If you get lost you can generally just turn around and follow your own trail back. If you're in a place with a lot of other people leaving tracks this obviously won't work nearly as well. Where I am I'm pretty much always the only person out there, so I haven't been bringing a compass, but I figure I should start in case something weird happens like the wind picks up and drifts snow really rapidly. Better safe than sorry and all that.

I really enjoy snowshoeing, and getting outside and exercising does a lot to improve my mood. It's usually beautiful too. Here's what it looks like going out my back yard trail when it has just been snowing.


The trail out my back yard hook into the local community park ski trails. They mostly didn't groom them this year, and I never saw anyone else out there at the same time as me. They did groom them once for a ski race and I took this picture after that. There's some little hills which are not too steep but nice for variety.


The other place I like to go is from my house to my grandma's There's a little ridge I follow along them top of which lets me see more. I keep forgetting to snap pics of that.

I've got to get going to a potluck but I'm going to try to post a little on the equipment I've used and what I want to get later tonight. Sorry for the super long posts, I've just been in that kind of mood lately.

[flybynight]

 I would like to hear more. We rarely get over 8 inches of snow around here. BUT... Talking to the old timers  ,there's been numerous times in the last century, of days long storms  with very deep snow. The storms that hit California last year  while out of the norm also were not without precedent . I've seen pictures of snow in those areas with six feet or more of snow.  So at that time I thought maybe that type of storms might again be due here . ( I envisioned this last winter ,but that didn't happen) So I bought a pair of snowshoes off Amazon. Which never arrived. Three weeks after ordering and they still had not shipped, so I canceled the order. And then one thing or another I never ordered another. But I still fear the deep snowstorms the old timers faced in their childhood are an inevitable  concern. 

[Optimist]

I would like to hear more. We rarely get over 8 inches of snow around here. BUT... Talking to the old timers  ,there's been numerous times in the last century, of days long storms  with very deep snow. The storms that hit California last year  while out of the norm also were not without precedent . I've seen pictures of snow in those areas with six feet or more of snow.  So at that time I thought maybe that type of storms might again be due here . ( I envisioned this last winter ,but that didn't happen) So I bought a pair of snowshoes off Amazon. Which never arrived. Three weeks after ordering and they still had not shipped, so I canceled the order. And then one thing or another I never ordered another. But I still fear the deep snowstorms the old timers faced in their childhood are an inevitable  concern.

I just checked Amazon and saw they had some pink snowshoes with trekking poles and a carrying case for $20. For that price it seems like they would have to be garbage, but I also can't help but be super curious so I ordered a pair. Even if things aren't the best quality they can often last long enough to get you out of a bind. The snow is on its way out, so I don't think I'll be able to test them before next winter.

[Optimist]

I own two pairs of snowshoes. One pair are U.S. military surplus that I got maybe fifteen years ago and were my only pair until last year when my dad gave me his old Atlas 1036 snowshoes. There was nothing wrong with the Atlas snowshoes, he just felt like getting something different with different bindings and knew I had been thinking about buying some different ones. I knew he had them for a long time but I looked them up online yesterday and they're a 2002 model. He goes out snowshoeing a lot so I'd say they've held up well. Both of these are very durable options.


The military surplus ones are a teardrop shape like a lot of old wooden snowshoes were while the Atlas are straight-sided like the large majority of modern snowshoes. (Old wooden ones come in all sorts of styles, but teardrop was a fairly common shape.) The teardrop style are wider, which gives a lot more surface area and helps keep you floating on top of the snow. The big downside to this is that for most people this makes the snowshoes so wide that you can accidentally step on your own feet and trip yourself. You have to always take nearly full strides to that the wide parts are forward and back of eachother and not side-by-side. With practice this gets to be second nature, and I no longer trip myself basically ever unless I am jogging (which also means a guaranteed face plant which is funny for everyone else).

The straight-sided snowshoes are narrow enough to mostly avoid this problem. You can still trip yourself trying to do weird turns around bushes and other funky stuff but you're unlikely to trip yourself just walking. For that reason I think this design is better for someone just starting out or keeping snowshoes around for an emergency, not intending to use them very often.

Snowshoes really don't need much practice to get started. You can pretty much put them on and just go. That's not to say there isn't any learning curve or things to get used to, but that as long as you can figure out the bindings you can expect to be reasonably successful, especially if you have poles to help keep yourself upright. The bindings are the only thing that I would say someone should make sure to practice once or twice in nice, stress-free conditions. A bunch of straps might be frustrating when you're freezing your ass off in the dark after your car went off the road.

[Optimist]

I got the $20 Amazon snowshoes. They took forever to show up, so it was the middle of the summer and I didn't have time to really check them out. I'll have to give them a shot this winter.

We got our first real snow a couple days ago and more is supposed to be on the way. I'm setting a goal of at least 200 miles on snowshoes this winter. If I break 500 miles I'll pretty happy with myself.

[EBuff75]

Don't get enough snow around the Detroit area for them to be of much use.  If I lived further north though, it might be something I'd add to the preps.  I did pick up a cheap set of crampons from Amazon though, just in the event that we have an ice storm and I need to go outside. 

[Optimist]

Yeah, having some grippy things to put on when it gets icy is definitely a good idea.