Snowshoeing’s popularity in recent years has snowballed. This happening illustrates the modern trend of turning old-time toil into present-day recreational pleasure. People of all ages have discovered snowshoeing’s versatility and aerobic value, plus the fact that the activity is just plain fun. All around New England, snowshoeing occupies a prominent place in the winter sports scene.
The principle behind snowshoes is to increase the surface area of the foot, thereby allowing one’s body to "float" higher in the snow—not necessarily to always walk on top of snow, but not sink too deeply into it.
SNOWSHOEING PAST AND PRESENT
In prehistoric times, what are today called Siberia and Alaska were connected by a land bridge. Anthropologists believe that the ancestors of Native Americans may have entered the New World from Asia via this bridge. These travelers weren’t wearing hiking boots when they crossed over; rather, they wore
snowshoes. A key invention in the history of transportation, snowshoes played an important role in the settlement of this continent's northern latitudes.
Snowshoes greatly facilitated the hunting of nomadic game in winter. Caribou, reindeer and bison travel in herds and are a ready supply of meat for food, as well as of skins for tents and clothing. To take advantage of this meat and skin supply, aboriginal hunters had to move quickly. Snowshoes allowed the first inhabitants of the New World to do precisely that.
Much later, the first Europeans in the New World were quick to mimic the Native Americans they encountered by trussing their feet up in snowshoes to keep from becoming mired in deep heaps of the white stuff.
Snowshoeing was a popular recreational activity in the 1920s, when outdoor clubs organized group snowshoeing "tramps". However, as skiing increasingly caught on, snowshoeing’s popularity declined.
A resurgence began around 1990 with the development of snap-on bindings and durable lightweight 'shoes. Recreational snowshoeing is popular today with people who are concerned about protecting the environment and physical well being.
A major reason why snowshoeing is a popular winter activity is that you don’t need lifts, fancy resorts or even trails to do it. Actually, you don’t need much of anything, except snowshoes and snow, to find what Mark Johnson of St. Albans, Vermont calls ecstasy.
"About 20 years ago, a whole raft of modern snowshoes came on the scene," Johnson, a runner and cross-country skier, points out. His first outing was a wild romp. "I was running up hills, jumping down rocks, sliding on them. Snowshoes are much smaller than skis and therefore much more maneuverable."
Still a runner and skier, Johnson is now also a serious snowshoe racer. He points out that competitors on a packed course can cover 10 kilometres in a half-hour or less. This is, to be sure, a fast pace, beyond the capabilities of all but the best dry-pavement recreational runners.
Numbers like these can strike fear into the hearts of the nonathletic. They shouldn’t. Racing is a tiny corner of the big snowshoeing picture, which is mostly regular folks hiking in snow that is too deep for normal walking.
TYPES OF SNOWSHOES
Early wooden snowshoes were of two types—the round and the elongated. The former are known as bearpaws, the latter as pickerels. Made from leather, bone, gut and wood, both types were primitive by today's standards, yet the benefits of these early ‘shoes were readily apparent. Constructed, as they were, from organic materials, a person could always utilize the component parts in times of privation by, for example, eating the laces or kindling the frames.
After World War II, when manufacturers of recreational equipment began seeking
leisure-time applications for aircraft aluminum, snowshoes entered a new phase of development. Like many outdoor sports, snowshoeing benefited from the use of high-tech materials and advances in design. Gone are the varnished wooden clunkers of years past; today, enthusiasts can purchase lightweight, ergonomically designed aluminum frames with neoprene decks and maintenance-free nylon laces.
With snowshoe prices in the $200-$250 range, and rentals at about $15 a day, snowshoeing is an affordable pastime. A pair of ski poles is all the additional equipment you need. Telescoping poles, which can change in length for varying conditions of terrain, sell for about $75.
The first step in choosing the right snowshoe is to determine your needs, based on snow conditions, type of terrain, body weight and aesthetic desires. Keep in mind: body weight is not the most important factor in determining the size of snowshoe you’ll need.
Heavy (wet) or icy snow allows for smaller snowshoes with grip-enhancing crampons (attachable spikes). Drier snow or fresh powder calls for a larger-size snowshoe, which provides greater flotation. If you live where there is consistently deep powder, get larger snowshoes. But if you live where you frequently encounter heavy, wet snow, smaller-size ‘shoes should be more than adequate to keep even large persons on top of the snow.
LEARNING THE BASICS
The first thing to learn is how to space the feet. Keep them far enough apart so that the ‘shoes don’t foul one another, but not so far apart that your gait is awkward. Before each step, lift the heel to a nearly vertical position, then bring the foot forward, swinging it out to clear the other ankle. Lift the snowshoe only enough to clear the surface of the ground and the other snowshoe.
Walk with the legs spread slightly father apart than they are when you’re walking. Practice the bent-knee stride, keeping the toes pointed straight ahead. The key rule is: don’t step on the other snowshoe. Once you’ve mastered that, you’re on your way to enjoyable snowshoeing.
The snowshoe walking pace is slower than regular stepping; therefore, be conservative in estimating how far you’ll travel. If you normally make a five-mile hike, start with half that distance on snowshoes.
Gentle inclines pose no barrier; however, steep slopes require persons with long snowshoes to "traverse" the incline in a zigzag course to the top. Persons with flat-toed snowshoes can kick in their own steps, powering themselves straight up.
When going downhill, snowshoes with upturned toes can "ski" down. Stubby snowshoes require some tiptoeing so as not to bury the toe in snow.
To coast downhill safely, crouch down and align the snowshoes so that the heel of the one in front holds down the toe of the rear one. This alignment provides better control and balance.
Turning depends upon ‘shoe style. The basic "side shuffle," left and right, always works. Round snowshoes allow normal pivotal turning—left over right, then right over left. Long snowshoes, however, require ski-style "kick" turns. Plant the tail of the turning snowshoe ahead in the snow and pivot that shoe into the turn, following with your body and then bringing the other snowshoe in line.
Don’t try backing up. Instead, take small steps to execute a "U-turn". It is useful oftentimes for a snowshoer to carry a ski pole. Using poles not only gets the upper body moving in a manner similar to cross-country skiing, but lends stability to your stride in variable terrain.
The best thing about this activity is that it allows people to go just about anywhere. You can explore places you wouldn’t think of going to when it’s warm, such as swampy areas that have considerable brush. Unlike cross-country skis, which perform best on groomed trails, snowshoes can go almost anywhere there is sufficient snow. Vermont snowshoe enthusiasts describe a typical winter's day as one that is fun, exciting and an ideal way to get around.
WHERE TO SNOWSHOE
Look for a park; just about any park. New England's ski areas offer groomed trails and tracks. A growing number of these centers also maintain snowshoe trails and provide snowshoe rentals. A report of snow conditions at Nordic centers is updated twice weekly during the season: www.travel-vermont.com
FUN AND FITNESS
Snowshoeing provides an excellent fitness workout and can improve cardiovascular health for people of all ages. Working the quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves, snowshoeing burns more calories than most winter sports, including cross-country skiing, because snowshoers can’t coast down inclines in the same manner that Nordic skiers can.
In addition to providing a rigorous workout, snowshoeing gives a person the chance to roam virtually anywhere around Vermont over deep snow and to explore geographically interesting locales that are difficult or impossible to reach in hiking boots. On snowshoes, wildlife observing becomes an exciting challenge.
"The best thing about snowshoeing is the ability to leave skiers on their manicured trails while you go out and blaze your own," notes Martin Doyle of Newport. "On each snowshoeing expedition, you see different landscapes that have been sculpted by winter. Skiers just see the same old trail day after day that hundreds of other people have already seen. Snowshoeing allows you to slow down, to see winter in a personal, individualistic way, at your own speed."
There is something in snowshoeing’s simplicity that speaks directly to an increasing number of people who seek to live robustly, and in harmony with nature. On silent snowshoes, a person can appreciate the beauty and solitude of winter landscapes. An individual on snowshoes doesn’t intrude on nature; rather, he or she is an integral part of it.
Besides making certain you know where you're going (and how to get back to where you started from), there is one important rule to follow when snowshoeing. If your route takes you near one of the groomed trails used by cross-country skiers, be careful not to destroy the track made by skiers. Though snowshoers often will use the parking lots at a trailhead for marked ski trails, do be courteous and parallel the ski trail until you are able to leave the trail system altogether. After all, that's the best thing about bushwhacking on snowshoes. You get to choose your own path. Enjoy.
