snowshoes

First, before I write anything more, I must say that I was a little disappointed to discover that I had *missed* taking note of Burning Silo’s first anniversary. Yes, indeed, a year ago yesterday, I wrote my first post on – of all things – a somewhat hair-raising encounter with a dog sled team! And here I am today, writing about another aspect of winter living here in the not-so-Frozen-North.

~ * ~

A couple of times within recent memory, Wayne from Niches has expressed some interest (or perhaps more like *amusement*), when I’ve mentioned walking around on snowshoes here at the farm. I happen to know that, secretly, he would like to experience walking around in snowshoes, so this post is dedicated to him. (-:

So! This morning, in the wake of yesterday’s minor snowstorm, I decided to break out the snowshoes and take a few photos and *even* make a little movie clip(!!) while out for my morning walk. I should probably mention that it’s quite cold here today. The temperature was hovering around -21C (-6 F), but with very strong winds, making it downright chilly out there. However, I persevered and got my photos despite rapidly freezing hands.

Now, about my snowshoes. One of them appears in the top photo (click on all images for larger views). I’ve had this pair since around Christmas 1972. As you might gather, a good pair of snowshoes can have a long and happy life, and I suspect this pair will long outlast me. They’re made of ash with babiche (rawhide strip) webbing. These days, I think just about all babiche is made from cowhide, but the traditional snowshoes of the First Nations peoples were made using moose or deer hides. My snowshoes came from an outdoor goods store owned by my mom’s brothers. I’m not sure where these shoes were made, but I kind of recall that they came from somewhere in Quebec. I checked around online and found that you can still get snowshoes like these, although many people are now using metal and various plastic types of shoes.

When not in use, we leave our snowshoes outdoors in the cold. If you take warm shoes out into the cold snow, they’ll get icy and snow will stick to them. However, they shouldn’t be left out in very wet snow, or freezing rain, as that’s hard on the babiche and the leather bindings. Snowshoes do need some maintenance — some varnish on the wood and babiche from time to time. Mine should have been done this year, but I’ll take care of that sometime this summer.

For those of you who don’t know much about snowshoes, I looked around on the web to see if I could find some good info on the various traditional styles. The University of Maine’s Hudson Museum has a wonderful website with photos of many styles of shoes. Here’s the introductory page. From there, use the side bar on the left to check out the various pages. It’s a very interesting site with lots of photos of wonderfully intricate traditional snowshoes.

~ Okay, now back to using these things! ~

As you can see, in the above photo, I’m now wearing my snowshoes with my hiking boots. I always used to wear cowhide mukluks with my snowshoes, but they’re getting harder to find and are very expensive. These days, I wear winter hiking boots that have a rubber bump on the toe and the back of the heel. These are best suited for use with the kind of leather bindings on my snowshoes. The bindings are adjusted so the that open area in the babiche is sort of just under your toes so that, as you step forward, the snowshoe can lightly drag along as you lift your foot. It’s kind of difficult to explain this, but you don’t want the snowshoe so firmly attached to your foot that it comes off the snow with your foot each time you take a step. If it did, you would soon be feeling tired of wearing them — not that they are at all heavy, as they’re actually very light in weight.

Walking in snowshoes is done in a fairly natural way, but with legs a little farther apart than normal. I like the above style of snowshoe as it’s quite narrow. I’ve used wider shoes which are usually used in deep, soft snow conditions, or when the wearer is carrying a heavy load, but I find them harder to walk in and also a little easier to fall. The long “tails” on my shoes provides some stability, and particularly help to prevent falling backwards. As you can see from the photo on the left, you do still sink down a bit through soft snow. That path has been walked over twice — coming and going. It’s already a little packed. A couple of more trips or so, and I’d actually be able to walk over my own trail just in boots. When we used to cross-country ski, we sometimes set our own track through soft, deep snow by walking around the farm in snowshoes first. Like all bright dogs, Sabrina knows enough to walk behind us when we’re out snowshowing through deep snow. I once had a real smarty-pants dog — a big husky — that used to like to sneak up and stand on the back end of my snowshoes whenever I stopped. I wouldn’t notice and would then try to step forward and end up falling when the snowshoe wouldn’t move!

Now, for the demonstration movie!! I shot this little .mp4 clip while out in the field this morning. It’s about 1.3MB in size. Just a little sidenote to this. It’s not as easy as you might think to look down at your feet to shoot a movie while walking in snowshoes. I *almost* lost my balance right at the end of this clip! Hope you enjoy this virtual snowshoe walk Wayne!

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21 Responses to “snowshoes”

  1. Peter Says:

    Happy anniversary! Looking forward to the next year

    In elementary school, we used to go snowshoeing quite a bit for phys ed class. We did snowshoe racing, which usualy resulted in all of us falling over within 10 feet of the starting line :-)

  2. Mark Says:

    Nice, crunchy snowshoe clip.

  3. burning silo Says:

    Peter – Thanks! I didn’t know if I’d make it through the first year, but I survived! (-:
    I think quite a few schools are now doing snowshoeing as a phys-ed activity. Your school must have been one of the “early adopters”! It’s certainly good exercise, but yes, I can imagine how many would be falling if you were racing!

    Mark – It was might cold and crunchy out there this morning!

  4. Mike Says:

    Happy blogaversary! Selfish readers hope for many more.

  5. Wayne Says:

    Wow – an anniversary, an honor, AND an mp4 intro to something I’ve never done! Looks like they actually work like they should too!

    I try to think of what comparable weather accessories we have the we get out at certain times of the year, and there just aren’t any. Lightning rods? Mist fans? Nothing so entertaining as snow shoes.

    By the way, those certainly were bad dogs!

    Congratulations on a year of fine writing, Bev. It’s always fun to look back on it.

  6. burning silo Says:

    Mike – Thanks! With any luck, I’ll keep going for awhile yet. (-:

    Wayne – Thanks! This year has gone by so quickly. Snowshoes are very effective accessories. They do make it possible to walk around under conditions that would keep you out of the woods. There’s nothing quite like trying to plunge through hip deep snow without them. And yes, those were very bad dogs! I’m a little more wary about the approach of dog teams after that incident!

  7. Laiku Oh Says:

    Hey, nice traditional babiche snowshoes(did I spell it right?) They seem very sleek, sophisticated, and sturdy. Three “s” words in a row! I guess your dog is pretty cunning and playful, huh? I take a liking to the snowshoes. They don’t seem like something that would break easily, and they seem very pretty, for a snowshoe.

  8. Laiku Oh Says:

    And hey- the snow and wind is pretty harsh, I can see by the muffled wind noises. I don’t know how to describe the noise of your snowshoes plowing through the snow, but it’s not even crunchy. Just that satisfying sound when your snowshoes pack the snow down.

  9. Ruth Says:

    I really wanted snowshoes this year, but hesitated because of the non-appearance of winter in December and early January. Yesterday I walked a trail for 30 minutes in knee deep snow and was tired and sore afterwards. How do the snowshoes work going up and down steep hills?

  10. Cathy Says:

    Happy Blogaversary! You’ve cleared up a mystery for me. I alway wondered about the track snowshoes leave. I’ve got to have my hubby tweak my computer so that I can watch these clips. You mention that you ‘used to cross-country ski’ – do you prefer the snowshoeing?

  11. Dave Says:

    Oh good! Now if I mention my snowshoes in tomorrow’s post, all I’ll need to do is link here. I’m jealous of your narrow pair. Mine are wider:
    http://farm1.static.flickr.com/154/391418349_1cd61a1b7f.jpg
    and were made in northern Maine back in the mid 60s.

    Congrats on completing one year of great blogging! I hope you stick around for a good, long while.

  12. burning silo Says:

    Laiku – Yes! To me, a snowshoe seems like a work of art. Some of the traditional snowshoes made by native peoples are absolutely beautiful — very fine weaving of narrow strips of babiche, and sometimes other coloured fibers. You’re also quite right about the sound of the snowshoes. They make a sound as they compact the snow — yes, “satisfying sound” is a good way to describe it. And yes, Sabrina is both smart and playful. All of the dogs I’ve had seemed to be that way.

    Ruth – If you think you’ll be doing much snowshoeing on steep hills, or where there is a lot of ice, you should probably look at the modern metal ones that have a sharp toothed metal piece made for gripping ice. I’ve never owned a pair, but my neighbour has used them and says they work well on ice. I’ve seen people using them on steep hiking trails, so I think they’re better for that. With our very long snowshoes, when going up a steep hill, you have to go uphill the same way you would in cross-country skis. Coming down, it’s sometimes possible to just sit back and slide down. A lot of people like to use ski poles when snowshoeing – especially those using the new lightweight shoes. I never have and would probably find poles a nuisance as I’m usually busy with my camera and don’t like having things in my hands.

    Cathy – Thanks! Yes, I actually much prefer snowshoeing over cross-country skis. I did ski quite a lot at one time, but I have some back trouble and the skiing motion greatly aggravates it, so I don’t ski at all anymore. Snowshoes are just about like walking, so they’re fine. The other thing about snowshoes is that they’re good for more conditions than skis. A couple of years ago, we went out for a long walk at Mill Pond. There was a deep blanket of wet, heavy snow that had just fallen, but we were able to walk right on top with few problems. About half way around the trail loop, we met a poor young guy on x-country skis who was doing the trail in the reverse from us. He was carrying his skis as he plunged through the snow. He said the snow just covered them and made them so heavy that he could barely move (I know that feeling as I’ve had it happen to me before too). He was so happy to meet us going in the opposite direction as we’d packed down the trail a lot, so he put his skis back on and zoomed onwards. For nature observation, I think snowshoes are better too. You can just wander along without much effort. The older babiche snoes are fairly quiet, so you can approach wildlife quite easily. I’ve noticed that most of the new metal ones are kind of clanky, so I think they wouldn’t be quite the same.

    Dave – Thanks! I’ll try to stick around for awhile!
    We’ve got one pair rather like yours — actually, they’re the same style as the above pair, but just much wider. One or the other of us wears them if we’re carrying something heavy as they’ll support more weight (they’re rated for about 220 lbs or so). I find them harder to walk in as it hurts my hip joints. I can walk at close to my normal stride in my regular pair of snowshoes, so they’re much easier on the hips and knees.

  13. Marcia Bonta Says:

    Bev
    Dave inherited my snowshoes. In my mid-fifties, I decided to try the new, lighter ones. They’ve been absolutely wonderful and now, at age 66, I can still go out on them, although it sure is nice if Dave breaks trail for me. So, for your older readers, I’d advise them to consider the new-fangled kinds.

  14. robin andrea Says:

    A fascinating movie clip, bev. I’ve never walked on snowshoes, and we don’t get enough snow here to warrant such a thing. But they do look beautiful, I love how they move on the snow, sinking in slightly but nowhere near where a simple boot would go. It’s amazing to think that a pair could last so many seasons, they must feel like old friends.

  15. burning silo Says:

    Marcia – Thanks for writing about your snowshoes. It’s great to have some input from others on the different types so that readers can learn more about what’s available.

    robin – They do sink in a bit – the degree depends on the snow conditions, but it’s rarely very deep. They are definitely a great advantage over struggling through the snow in boots — no comparison, in fact. Regarding their longevity, they’re very tough – ash is really strong and durable, and so is the babiche. They are like old friends. Interesting thing is each snowshoe is always seems slightly different than the next — subtle stuff — so they do have a feeling of individuality about them, which is kind of nice.

  16. Jimmy Says:

    I also use my snowshoes every winter…I have a pair of bear paws…I have had them since I was 15…love them alot. I have even used them in the summer on mud flats. It helped me not to sink…

  17. burning silo Says:

    Jimmy – My dad used to have a pair of army surplus bear paw snowshoes. They were made of bent wood with canvas in the center and some kind of cord going through grommets and into the wooden frames all around. I would never have thought to use snowshoes on mud flats, but I’ll bet they work well for that!

  18. John Says:

    Happy Anniversary! I loved the video clip…looking down, I could almost imagine it was me walking on the snow. Bev, thanks for your posts…they are inspiring. I’m with Mike…I selfishly look forward to many more years of your posts!

  19. burning silo Says:

    John – Thanks! I will try to keep on posting as long as it’s fun and others seem to be enjoying the blog.
    Glad you liked the little movie clip. I was hoping that the bird’s eye view would give some impression of how it looks and sounds to be walking in snowshoes!

  20. Wayne Says:

    Looking through the comments, I see that Robin has mentioned this, and I’ve been mulling it over.

    Are snowshoes effective in all kinds of snow? Are there sorts of snow where you just look outside and then hang up the shoes and say, no way?

    Your southerly friend here took the opportunity, indeed, demanded the opportunity, to work in Oslo, Norway, during the 1988-1989 winter. He wanted to learn how to ski. His host, a very fine person by the name of Kjetill, did an admirable job of carting him around to the mountains on a private trip to his parents’ cabin, and to a research meeting, which was otherwise fantastic. Unfortunately Norway recorded the warmest temperatures on record (then) in that winter. They had to bring snow in by train just hold their Holmenkollebacken ski festival, in March. It was a bust.

    The month before I went home, Athens got its record snowfall for many decades.

  21. burning silo Says:

    Wayne – Yes, as you might gather from a couple of comments above, there are some snow conditions that are not so good for getting around in snowshoes. Ice-covered snow is wicked if it’s really slick. The new snowshoes with the jagged metal teeth that dig into ice make it better though. My traditional snowshoes are impossible in that situation.
    The other kind of snow that is sort of troublesome is the very fluffy kind that usually comes with dry weather. Under some unusual circumstances, it can be very deep and you will go right down through it. Depending on the weather, it might be fluffy, but also somewhat heavy, and that can make the snowshoes weigh a lot and hard to lift. Those conditions are rare, but quite uncommon. Depending on the snow conditions, sometimes x-country skis are better and much faster and easier for moving about. Sometimes just walking in your boots is best of all. You just have to judge which will work best and go for it.
    I should mention that the “other” situation that isn’t good for snowshoes is when you’re trying to walk through brush or places where there are a lot of obstacles — that can be a pain in the can when you’re on snowshoes or skis.