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Snowshoeing is the fastest-growing winter sport and for good reason. It’s easy to learn,
fun, and lets you enjoy your favorite hiking trails in winter as well as summer. It’s also
a tremendous workout whether you tramp along through unbroken snow or run on packed trails.
Although snowshoeing is virtually injury-free, it’s still important to know how to survive
in the winter environment.
Prevention
Snowshoeing is one of the most strenuous winter sports. You’re hauling along a couple of
extra pounds on your feet, poling vigorously if you choose to use ski poles, and maybe
breaking trail through a foot of new powder. Maybe you’re doing all this at an
unaccustomed altitude. The result is plenty of sweat and heavy breathing, making aerobic
fitness a must.
To hone your endurance, include some interval training, so you can go harder on uphill
sections then recover on the downhills. Interval training is best done before you begin
snowshoeing to build a base; then it’s improved by faster work bouts once you get on the
snow. Also you need enough strength in your shoulders, arms, abs and low back to propel
you along if you choose to use poles.
Equipment and Clothing
Snowshoeing is a “hot and wet” sport. Because it’s physically demanding, you’ll work up a
sweat quickly. And because you’re traveling (and maybe falling) on snow, your clothes can
get soaked quickly. Also, many models of snowshoe kick snow up on the backs of your legs
with each stride and can quickly make you wet from ankle to hips.
So dress in layers. Consider tights with water-repellent panels up the back of the leg,
and always wear moisture-wicking clothing rather than cotton. Good choices include a
polypro base layer, tights and gaiters for your legs, a light fleece insulating layer on
your upper body, and a wind shell. Don’t forget a knit hat and gloves.
If you’ll be traveling in the backcountry, carry a pack containing another layer of fleece,
warm mittens, and standard back country survival gear, including matches, map and compass,
water and food, a space blanket, and a first aid kit. For longer tramps, consider carrying
a stove and shovel for digging an emergency snow cave. In avalanche country, carry a
transponder (see below).
Warm Up and Stretch
Because snowshoeing is an active sport, a good warm-up is important. Without it, you’re
courting injury, especially to your groin muscles, the tendons on the front of the ankles,
and the hamstrings. So always loosen up before going hard or tackling hills. Guerra
suggests starting with easy calisthenics like jumping jacks and running in place to get
things loosened up, followed by easy walking on snowshoes for five or ten minutes. Then
do five minutes of gentle stretching before you begin to snowshoe more vigorously,
especially if you’re running.
Know Your Limits
Don’t snowshoes past your endurance. If you head out into the backcountry for two hours,
it will probably take you another two hours or more to return to your car or the warming
hut. If you have only trained for three hours of aerobic activity, you’ll be exhausted
before you return, and fatigue robs you of the mental acuity and coordination needed to
get home safely. The same goes for terrain—don’t get in over your head. If your technical
ability is limited to strolling on gentle slopes, it’s a bad idea to head up a mountain
that will require you to descend some steep couloir in snow conditions that start with
breakable crust and then degenerate. Gain experience and fitness first, then push your
limits—but always keep your limitations in mind.
First Aid
If you travel in the backcountry, be prepared to deal with first aid emergencies. Always
carry a first aid kit. Take an American Red Cross first aid course. If you spend
substantial time in roadless areas, consider the Wilderness First Responder course offered
in many cities and ski areas (http://www.firstlead.com/info.html). It’s a lifesaver if one of
your companions is seriously injured far from help.
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is an insidious killer of the unprepared. Due to the gradual lowering of the
body’s core temperature, it’s often associated with raging blizzards and treks to the
North Pole. But hypothermia is more likely to hit in relatively mild weather when an
unprepared snowshoer gets stuck high on the mountain in an unexpected wet snowfall with
inadequate clothing.
Symptoms progress from mild to uncontrollable shivering as the body tries to warm itself.
Victims become fatigued, lose their sense of time and distance and gradually become so
confused that they make irrational choices like abandoning gloves or parkas. When
shivering stops, a sense of profound apathy takes over and many victims die, unable to
find their way to safety or perform simple survival tasks like starting a fire.
Avoid hypothermia by dressing in layers. Always wear moisture-wicking clothing instead of
cotton. Be aware of weather patterns in your area and dress accordingly. If you’re getting
cold, especially if you’re wet, seek shelter immediately. If you’re snowshoeing on a
packed track, don’t continue until you’ve added enough clothing to stay warm. In the
backcountry, fire up your stove, drink something hot and make sure you’ve eaten enough to
produce some body heat. Because victims are often unaware of hypothermia’s onset, watch
for symptoms in your companions. And if you begin shivering, take action at once.
Hydration and sunscreen
We don’t associate winter with dehydration and sunburn. But the dry, cold air of winter,
especially at high altitude, can suck the water out of you with each breath. Because
performance decreases significantly when you lose as little as one or two percent of your
bodyweight as fluid, make a concentrated effort to stay hydrated. Drink water with dinner
and keep a bottle next to your bed so you can drink at night if you wake up.
Pre-hydrate in the morning by drinking about 16 ounces of a sports drink an hour or two
before you begin to snowshoe. The carbohydrate in the sports drink will increase your
energy levels, too. During the day, either carry a fluid source like a back-mounted hydration pack under your parka or stop frequently
at warming huts, if they’re available, to drink.
Sunburn is another danger, especially at high altitude in the spring when the sun’s rays
are intensified as they reflect off the snow. Reports abound of snowshoers suffering
severe sunburns on the bottoms of their noses or chins from reflected sunlight. Protect
yourself by using copious sunscreen. Reapply several times during the day.
Avalanches
Ski areas located in avalanche-prone areas are extremely careful about avalanche control.
Professionals monitor suspect slopes and close them if heavy snow or high winds have
deposited unstable snow layers that could slide. If you snowshoe on ski area slopes,
avalanches aren’t generally a concern.
But this all changes in the backcountry. It you travel in avalanche country, learn all you
can about them. Take an avalanche awareness class. You and your snowshoeing companions
should carry transponders and know how to use them. Above all, remember that avalanches
are extremely unpredictable. No one can look at a slope and tell you if it will slide when
you walk across it. As the old saw goes, no one is an avalanche expert—all the people who
thought they were died in avalanches.
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