Burn off Fat in the Cold; Go Snowshoeing

Winter is always a problem, during spring, summer and fall there’s more than enough stuff to do in the mountains or even around town that’s outside and physically challenging.  Once the cold rolls I want to fire up the xbox far more than I want to step on the scale.  Winter just didn’t seem to provide a lot of opportunities for exercise.  Skiing is expensive and there’s always congestion traffic in order to get up there and most back-country sports require a huge dollar and time investment in order to get started.   Several years ago I stumbled upon a craigslist ad for some snowshoes and found them surprisingly cheap.  My original idea was to rip the crampons (metal spikes that go under your feet for walking/climbing on snow) off of them to make some cheap mountaineering boots.  Instead I discovered the best winter activity out there.

If you want to burn a bit of holiday fat off in the winter time you could go to the gym and choke down the stagnant air laced with artificial smells disguised to hide the fact that people sweat.  Run in place like a hairless hamster while being subjected to whatever 80s hair metal the front desk jockey has queued up for the evening, OR you could hop in the car, drive to the first place that has snow on the ground more than 4-5″ deep and go for a run, climb hills, play in the snow and remember what it was like when you were 8 and working out was fun instead of labor.

I find that people tend to snowshoe for 2 main reasons, they’re either looking to burn some fat during the holiday season and just want some place to do it that’s quiet, peaceful, and challenging.

The second group is awed by the beauty of winter.  The outdoor world really does change under a heavy snow fall.  Snow absorbs sound and so much of the outdoor experience is auditory, just the change in sound, the heavily weighted trees and reformed mountains is enough of a change you feel like you’re rediscovering things all over again.  Since walking on snow is also less of an impact on the plant life under it and because trails are nearly impossible to find when they’re buried under multiple feet of snow you can hike where you please, across frozen lakes, off trail and climbing hills and peaks that are otherwise off limits for conservation purposes.

For the fat burners small running snowshoes are likely going to be the best bet.  Redfeather makes a good lineup of light, simple snowshoes on the cheap that make you feel like you’re wearing your regular running shoes.  Atlas also makes an excellent lineup of smaller shoes that do not drag when you lift your feet up.  This makes for a very natural running stride.  These will have a small simple crampon and be around 18-20 inches in length.   You can easily keep them in your car and go for a quick run on your way home from work if you pass by an empty snow  covered lot, or jog around a frozen over lake.

For those winter explorers who want to get into deeper higher snow and trudge up steep hills all while bringing calories I suggest large shoes.  30+ inches is what I tend to use and I’m fairly small and not too heavy.  For those that enjoy climbing look for a shoe that has a very aggressive crampon.  The metal spikes under the shoe tend to come in two formats either a simple sawtooth design that’s made out of steel about 1-2mm thick or a very big burly thing that looks more like the mouth of a shark.  For those that do climbing the bigger the crampon the better.

These shoes tend to be heavier, and running in them would be a chore, but the floatation they provide is far better and they are built to take serious abuse.   Tubbs makes an excellent lineup of shoes.  I use an old pair of mountain 30s, and the adventure line is also a very good model.  Tubbs also come with a lifetime warranty and seem very good about honoring it.   After abusing my shoes for years I busted one of the mounting points for the buckle.  I called Tubbs up and they sent me enhanced new buckles that I was able to install in just a few minutes.

Some people may be turned off by the 300+ dollar price point of new large snowshoes.   There’s many ways to trim the expense though, craigslist, seems to be a hot  bed of used snowshoes with many 300+ dollar models selling for around 100.  Add in a pair of used ski poles and you’re set.  You don’t need fancy foot wear, either your hiking boots will do just fine or if you plant to get into really deep snow a pair of gaiters will help to keep the snow out of your boots.   It’s not uncommon to find older big snowshoes for around 50 bucks.  While the old style “tennis racket” snowshoes look a bit cool and retro, they are had to maintain, and much more prone to failure.  Still they can be picked up cheap and they do work pretty well.  Often they will not have a crampon so if you’re planning any climbing be cautious.  REI also sells their old rental equipment.  They use very nice Atlas snowshoes for their rentals and buying them used from their quarterly REI yard sale is a great bargin.

If you have any questions about a particular model of shoes or if you’d like any suggestions on where to go in your area feel free to leave a comment.

Eric Starling is a webmaster and a photographer.  He lives in Denver, CO and is highly skilled at falling into spruce traps.