Snowshoeing With Young Children

August 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A snowshoer packing cross-country skis for a t...
Image via Wikipedia
If you have young children, maintaining your active outdoors lifestyle can be difficult. Cross-country skiing and hiking up mountains are probably out of the question for a few years. Not every activity is unsuited for children, though, and taking your child along will help instill a love of the outdoors in them as well as give you an activity to enjoy doing together. Any child that has ever seen snow likely already knows that he loves sledding and having snowball fights. For a slower-paced activity that can include even the youngest of children, why not try snowshoeing?
Snowshoeing is one of the most child-friendly winter sports. It’s slow-paced enough to allow children to keep up with you, easy to learn to do, and most companies that make snowshoes make pairs in small sizes to accommodate children. In addition, snowshoeing makes an excellent group activity–the more packed-down the snow is from the leaders of the group, the easier it will be for anybody following them to walk on. A good way to introduce your child to snowshoeing is to walk just ahead of her so that she can follow in your footsteps and have packed-down snow upon which to walk.
Before going out on any trails, practice basic snowshoeing techniques with your child so that he knows how to walk in his snowshoes, how to get up if he falls down, and how to climb up and down hills. Walking in snowshoes actually seems to come more naturally to children than it does to adults, so don’t be surprised if your child gets the hang of it faster than you do!
When on a snowshoeing excursion with children, it’s a great idea to pull a small plastic sled behind you. Not only can you place your pack in it to glide behind you instead of being a heavy weight on your back, but if your child gets tired before you do, you can have her sit in it and pull her along behind you easily. Pack lots of snacks and a thermos with hot cocoa to stay warm and hydrated, and have fun!
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Snowshoeing vs. Skiing

August 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Snowshoeing might seem like a slow-paced, trudging way to climb a mountain, especially if you’re used to riding a ski lift. However, there are some definite benefits of snowshoeing that skiing doesn’t have. One obvious advantage of snowshoeing is that you’re getting more exercise. Skiers use their whole bodies to steer their skis, and it’s definitely a workout, but the trip up the slope is as simple as sitting in a ski lift and being carried to the top. Snowshoeing requires that you climb that slope. Walking on snow is more of a strenuous workout than walking on the ground, especially while traveling uphill. It will take longer to reach the top, but if you enjoyed the trip up, why not take your time?
Perhaps the prospect of having to climb back down the hill is what is deterring you from snowshoeing. With skiing, you can slide down speedily and enjoy the air flying past you. You can’t do that on a pair of snowshoes—but you can pull a plastic sled behind you on the way up, and ride it down the hill in a fun, speedy slide if you like! You can put your snowshoes into the sled, too, so everything that you brought up the hill can come back down with you–no need to climb the hill again if you don’t want to. There is something satisfying about climbing a hill and having a picnic at the top while enjoying the view; pull your backpack in the sled on the way up.
If you’ve never tried snowshoeing before, you should try renting a set of snowshoes and walking poles before investing in a set of your own gear. Dress as you would for a regular winter hike: warmly, with a hat, gloves, inner cotton or wool shell, and waterproof outside layer such as rain paints. Waterproof shoes are a must–if you wear wool socks, your can use regular leather hiking boots. Since snowshoeing takes considerably more effort than regular hiking, your body will generate enough heat to keep itself fairly warm so long as you keep moving.
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Snowshoeing for Beginners

August 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Couple snowshoeing, Toronto, Canada
Image via Wikipedia
Snowshoeing is pretty straightforward in principal; walk on the snow. That can’t be that hard, right? There are a few differences between walking on snow (and in large, rounded shoes) than walking on the ground, though. Beginners to snowshoeing will have to relearn how they should stand if they have fallen down, turn around to face the other direction, and several other actions when they are walking on the white stuff.
First, of course, rent or buy a set of snowshoeing gear: snowshoes and walking poles. Ask the person recommending the gear to help you ensure that they are the right size; sizing is very important for snowshoes, as it is based on your weight. Basically the heavier you are, the wider the snowshoes need to be to distribute that weight over the surface of the snow. Be honest about your actual weight, and count in the weight of any gear you’ll be carrying, or you could find yourself sinking through the snow rather than walking on top of it!
Walking in snowshoes is called stride. Your stride will be similar to walking without snowshoes, but you’ll have to straddle–walk with your feet further apart than usual–in order to keep the wide snowshoes from hitting together. Breaking trail is the term for creating a trail in the snow where it hasn’t been stepped on with snowshoes before. Breaking trail involves techniques called stamping and edging, but ways of placing weight on the edge of a snowshoe before pressing down into the middle so that the snow will pack down enough to hold your weight.
To turn around, you can’t just rotate–your snowshoes will catch in the snow. Instead, step in a circle by placing one foot at a 90-degree angle from the other, then placing the other foot to face in the same direction. Repeat this twice and you will have turned around to face the exact opposite direction that you had been facing before. There are five techniques for climbing hills in snowshoes, each suited for a different kind of slope; practice in your backyard before hitting the trails.

Snowshoeing is pretty straightforward in principal; walk on the snow. That can’t be that hard, right? There are a few differences between walking on snow (and in large, rounded shoes) than walking on the ground, though. Beginners to snowshoeing will have to relearn how they should stand if they have fallen down, turn around to face the other direction, and several other actions when they are walking on the white stuff.   First, of course, rent or buy a set of snowshoeing gear: snowshoes and walking poles. Ask the person recommending the gear to help you ensure that they are the right size; sizing is very important for snowshoes, as it is based on your weight. Basically the heavier you are, the wider the snowshoes need to be to distribute that weight over the surface of the snow. Be honest about your actual weight, and count in the weight of any gear you’ll be carrying, or you could find yourself sinking through the snow rather than walking on top of it!  Walking in snowshoes is called stride. Your stride will be similar to walking without snowshoes, but you’ll have to straddle–walk with your feet further apart than usual–in order to keep the wide snowshoes from hitting together. Breaking trail is the term for creating a trail in the snow where it hasn’t been stepped on with snowshoes before. Breaking trail involves techniques called stamping and edging, but ways of placing weight on the edge of a snowshoe before pressing down into the middle so that the snow will pack down enough to hold your weight.   To turn around, you can’t just rotate–your snowshoes will catch in the snow. Instead, step in a circle by placing one foot at a 90-degree angle from the other, then placing the other foot to face in the same direction. Repeat this twice and you will have turned around to face the exact opposite direction that you had been facing before. There are five techniques for climbing hills in snowshoes, each suited for a different kind of slope; practice in your backyard before hitting the trails.

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Ascending in Snowshoes

August 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Snowshoe and cross country ski track in Samoens
Image by Gerald Davison via Flickr
One of the most important skills to know for snowshoeing is how to climb a hill. Ascending, as it is called, in snowshoes takes practice and precision. There are several commonly-practiced techniques for ascending, four of which will be covered here. Depending on the steepness of the slope and how well the snow packs, you may choose from several of these techniques when sizing up a particular hill.
Herringbone Step
Herringbone stepping is the term for ascending by pointing your snowshoes outward as you step up the hill. To herringbone step, you must point your feet at forty-five degree angles from your body and lean your weight onto the outside edges of your snowshoes to press the snow down enough to hold you. Herringbone stepping may be familiar to you already if you have done any cross-country skiing.
Stepping Up
Stepping up is one of the most common ways for a snowshoer to ascend a hill. It involves facing the hill and stepping into it with the toes of your snowshoes in order to literally walk through the snow as if you were climbing a set of steps.
Scramble Step
The scramble step, also called simply scrambling, is basically a speedy way of stepping up. Make sure to keep your weight leaning onto the toes of your snowshoes! This may be more difficult to do when moving faster.
Side Step
To side step, stand so that the hill is at your side and ascend sideways. Before you place each snowshoe down fully, press down on the snow with only the outer side of the snowshoe to pack it down; this technique is called edging, and it’s a vital snowshoeing skill. Before you start side stepping, use edging to make a shelf with your first step, then step with the same foot up one step higher so that your other foot can be lifted to rest on the first shelf. As you take each new step, your other foot will end up on the last shelf that your leading foot occupied.
Always research and practice new techniques at home before you hit any mountain trails.

One of the most important skills to know for snowshoeing is how to climb a hill. Ascending, as it is called, in snowshoes takes practice and precision. There are several commonly-practiced techniques for ascending, four of which will be covered here. Depending on the steepness of the slope and how well the snow packs, you may choose from several of these techniques when sizing up a particular hill.
Herringbone Step
Herringbone stepping is the term for ascending by pointing your snowshoes outward as you step up the hill. To herringbone step, you must point your feet at forty-five degree angles from your body and lean your weight onto the outside edges of your snowshoes to press the snow down enough to hold you. Herringbone stepping may be familiar to you already if you have done any cross-country skiing.
Stepping Up
Stepping up is one of the most common ways for a snowshoer to ascend a hill. It involves facing the hill and stepping into it with the toes of your snowshoes in order to literally walk through the snow as if you were climbing a set of steps.
Scramble Step
The scramble step, also called simply scrambling, is basically a speedy way of stepping up. Make sure to keep your weight leaning onto the toes of your snowshoes! This may be more difficult to do when moving faster.
Side Step
To side step, stand so that the hill is at your side and ascend sideways. Before you place each snowshoe down fully, press down on the snow with only the outer side of the snowshoe to pack it down; this technique is called edging, and it’s a vital snowshoeing skill. Before you start side stepping, use edging to make a shelf with your first step, then step with the same foot up one step higher so that your other foot can be lifted to rest on the first shelf. As you take each new step, your other foot will end up on the last shelf that your leading foot occupied.
Always research and practice new techniques at home before you hit any mountain trails.

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