Snowshow Tips

Buying snowshoes


#1: Get the shortest (and lightest) snowshoes you believe you can get away with.
Snowshoes make it impossible to be elegant on the mountain. The shorter they are, the easier they are to manage.


Even on a mountain like Denali - you spend most of your time following in a trail, while briefly taking a turns breaking trail. Closer to home, you are often following an established trail in the snow. Consult the manufacturers recommendation on snowshoe length required for your weight (including pack) and buy the shortest snowshoe you will typically need.


Do not buy the longest snowshoe you will ever need. You are choosing between being slightly miserable when conditions are terrible and being slightly miserable most of the time :)

 #2: If you live in the Pacific Northwest, buy a 22" snowshoe
My wife and me learnt this the hard way, after getting 25" snowshoes and then later switching to 22" snowshoes. The snow in the PacNW is typically wet and heavy. 22" snowshoes work just fine in "soft PacNW powder" unless you're pushing ~250lbs with your pack.






Using snowshoes

#1: Strap your shoes into your snowshoes starting at the front.I quickly learnt to do this after doing it the other way, and getting my new snowshoes to squeak. The front lip of the sole was rubbing against the snowshoe platform when I walked, because I'd strapped in my shoe a few inchoes ahead of where it should have been. This happened, because I started out with the straps on the back.