Snowshoeing

[mtwarden]

^^ Justin what was the problem with the Altai's; I've only had one issue with them and that was snow sticking to the permanent skin- only occurs where you encounter wet snow and then cold, dry snow in a short distance

^ Ross- agree on the MSR's- I own three pairs of snowshoes and all are MSR's

 

[thinhorn_AK]

View attachment 228627
This sums up a lot of people I see on snowshoes.

This is my experience as well.

 

[mtwarden]

Two day snowshoe trip into the Scapegoat- little chilly Saturday morning at -2F

 

[Justin Crossley]

We've made it out for a couple hikes. Lots of fun!

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[mtwarden]

bagged Elkhorn Peak today- phew!

 

[Robster]

I run a pair of Tubbs Adventure 30's. I wear them snowshoe hare hunting with my beagles every weekend. They work well, but I'm thinking of upgrading to this pair called the rabbit hunter snowshoe. http://www.mgsnowshoes.com/Products2.html

MtWarden, I love the picture you posted from the trip into the scapegoat a few posts back. being a hare hunter, the hare tracks around you are awesome to see!!

 

[swampthing]

Was out lynx huntin on the shoes today. No action through! The exercise sure made the ceasar taste good when I got home!

 

[ZDR]

4 miles RT up Sandra peak today teaching my daughter to snowshoe.

 

[mtwarden]

pulling a pulk in for a weekend at a 8600' cabin with my wife, youngest daughter and Tiny Elvis (ended bagging a peak close by too)

 

[justinspicher]

Managed to get several trips in this winter on my snow shoes. Not nearly enough though.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I’ve been getting after it a little bit as well, although I think I’ll be going up a size or two for my next outing. ‘Tis the season!

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[mtwarden]

^ there is nothing worse than rotten snow, it's not powder- even powder will eventually compress far enough down and hold you up- I think they call it corn snow, I call it $hit snow

 

[AK Troutbum]

^ there is nothing worse than rotten snow, it's not powder- even powder will eventually compress far enough down and hold you up- I think they call it corn snow, I call it $hit snow

Makes for a good workout though.


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[Robster]

Know where I can get snowshoes for my dog?

 

[twall13]

View attachment 228627
This sums up a lot of people I see on snowshoes.

I thought of this post while I was out today. The first 2 miles of my hike was pretty well hard packed and I was much better off with my microspikes. Once I got high enough, and far enough to be breaking trail I put on the snowshoes for a mile and a half or so. On the way out I passed 3 people on snowshoes in the packed down, icy zone. It's a fairly tight trail and I wouldn't want to be tripping over my snowshoes in that stuff unless I needed the for flotation. It definitely made me think of this photo and how many people use snowshoes.

On another note, I finally got to test out my MSR Lightning Ascents. It took me over a year to actually get them after someone at fedex stole my first order and my second order was cancelled due to Covid shortages. They are a huge upgrade over my 20+ year old Tubbs. The bindings are a major improvement, the traction is a major improvement, and I was shocked how well the televators work. I actually forgot I was using the televators until I got to a flatter part and felt like I was walking downhill. I'm sure there will be times I'll regret having purchased the 25" model over the 30" model but I bought them with this trail in mind and they worked well in the tight quarters. At this point I'm pretty happy with the purchase.

 

[HoneyDew]

@mtwarden with the lightning ascents did you go with the 25” or 30”? Or have you added the tail for extra floatation at heavier weights? I’ll be at the 220lbs without anything more than a daypack and trying to see if it makes sense to commit to the 30s or if the tails actually work/are worth it.

 

[mtwarden]

@mtwarden with the lightning ascents did you go with the 25” or 30”? Or have you added the tail for extra floatation at heavier weights? I’ll be at the 220lbs without anything more than a daypack and trying to see if it makes sense to commit to the 30s or if the tails actually work/are worth it.

I have the 30" ones AND the tails- I'd suggest both if you have a lot of softer snow; even with the tails they are no where near unwieldy.

 

[mtwarden]

my snowshoe trip last week in the Elkhorns

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

@mtwarden with the lightning ascents did you go with the 25” or 30”? Or have you added the tail for extra floatation at heavier weights? I’ll be at the 220lbs without anything more than a daypack and trying to see if it makes sense to commit to the 30s or if the tails actually work/are worth it.

mtwarden has way more experience but I made the mistake of getting the 25" because the 30" was unavailable anywhere. I'm about 212lb before gear and even with the tails on sunk in a good bit. Hunted around and found the tails which helped but still was sinking in a lot in the deeper snow, plus it shifted the balance to push forward when sinking in, since the extensions were just in the back.

So during the off season I'll bite the bullet and buy the 30" and sell my 25".

 

[twall13]

I bought the 25" model mainly for one reason. The trail I hike most often is narrow and tight and I wanted the extra maneuverability of the shorter model. I got the tails as well for when needed but if I was doing most of my snowshoeing in wide open areas I would definitely get the 30's with the tails. I weigh around 180 so even with a day pack I'm well below the weight limit for the 25's on a day hike but it depends a lot more on the snow conditions than anything and I think the more floatation you have the better off you are when the snow is soft.

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