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Today was my first time using snowshoes. The snowshoes I used were a pair of rented Atlas 1033's. I also tried out a pair of adjustable trekking poles for added stability. My other gear was carried inside of a shoulder bag and was basically the same items I take with me on all my trips into the wilderness. When I arrived at the parking area, it was apparent that I was going to have the place pretty much to myself. The Ski Patrol was closed and other than the nice gentleman I talked to that was going skiing, the parking lot was deserted. The weather was great. I dressed light but I was sure to pack extra warm clothing in my bag. The purpose of this trip was not to put miles between civilization and myself. It was to test equipment in a controlled, safe setting. I didn't have any problems when it came time to strap on the snowshoes. A few words of explaination from the salesperson on how to put them on was all that was needed to ensure a good fit. Within a couple minutes I was off into the woods. As a courtesy, it is good practice to stay off ski trails with snowshoes. Most XC skiers prefer smooth trails and snowshoes tend to tear things up. I noticed several tracks from other snowshoers that apparenty weren't aware of these trail manners. |
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| Traveling Light | |||||||||||||
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| Things came pretty easy for me. I traveled through the trees, up and down drainage areas, across logs, through brush, and other obsticals. By alternating my travel through sunny and shady areas, I was able to get a feel for various snow conditions. I was, however, limited to the depth of the snow I could travel in. Due to the weather conditions, the deepest snow I encountered was only about a foot and a half deep. Much less than what I believe would be normal winter mountain conditions at 8000 feet.
The snowshoes themselves worked great. They were rugged and seemed to be built well. And because of the crampon/spike feature, I was really able to dig my way up slopes. As an experiment I crossed a very slick, icy patch in the trail. The snowshoes dug right in and didn't slip at all. As I was traveling through the trees, I noticed a flash of silver from an object in the snow. When I dug it out it appeared to be some kind of thick, foam backed, mylar blanket. I thought that I could use it for something later on so I rolled it up and tucked it into my bag. Later on I realized it must have been sun shield for the windshield of a car. Sledding is one of the activities people come to Mt. Pinos for. There were some dandy sled runs and I was itching to give it a try. I had one problem. No sled. Just then, I remembered the windshield cover I had found earlier and tucked away for that special occasion. Well, that occation had arived. Feeling a bit embarassed that someone might see me sliding down a hill on a piece of silver trash, I scanned the area to be sure I was clear. Well, that silver sled was like greased lightning. I was at the bottom before I could even let out a customary sledding scream. Ok, nobody saw me. Back to work. Shelter Site
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With a little bit of time on my hands, I decided to travel to a spot in the woods to practice my snow shelter construction skills. After some searching, I came across a group of rocks that had a slight snow drift forming a half circle around it's base. I decided that because of the limited time (and snow) that I had, it would quickest to form a snow structure using the rocks as one of the walls.
| Improvising
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The snowshoes really came in handy as a makeshift shovel. Grasping the shoe by it's tail and heal strap, the shoe slid right under the snow, allowing a large scoop of snow to be lifted. The snowshoe could then be used as a scraping/shaping/packing tool to help form the shelter. Because I was building the shelter on a slope, I was able to save energy by turning the shoe sideways, using it as scraping blade to slide snow down to the shelter site. I found myself having to chase the sun in order to use the desirable wet snow it created.
| Finished Shelter
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If I had been in a survival situation, I feel the shelter would have protected me well. Had it been for real, I would have cut some nearby bows and lined the shelter floor with them. This would have helped to insulate my body from the cold earth. If I had some more time, I believe I would have sealed up the end and cut an entrance hole in the middle.I feel this would have given me more protection as well as an easier way to enter and exit.
| Time to Head Back
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All in all it was a fun day and a great learning experience. The snowshoes and user encountered few problems.
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Eric * A special thanks to ML for taking the time to introduce me to the world of winter travel using snowshoes. Once again, a new set of doors has been opened.
Copyright © 2001 by Eric Stoskopf.
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