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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Snowshoeing
 
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meselfs
Sep 26, 2015

The body may die, but the soul is always rotten

Epitope posted:

Aw don't be such a stickler ranger, we were just playing.

I am genuinely interested in when snowshoes are superior to skis. They are cheaper and easier to use, but what else? Easier to carry through brush I suppose.

Here are some things snowshoes have over skis:

• Skis are hilariously awkward in dense forest, and increase risk of falling into a tree well.
• Snowshoes usually have crampon points and can go up any slope, until you need actual crampons.
• Skis generally require special boots. Not normally a problem, but some people (like me) are extremely averse to heavy footwear.
• Skis are complicated: there are a million variations and getting it wrong can mean crappy travel. Sometimes snow conditions change within a trip and this isn't something you can deal with via planning your ski setup.

Make a ski thread and we'll talk about why snowshoes suck :ins:


There are also these "skishoes" I'm experimenting with made by Altai, note that it straps to a normal shoe:



They're really short and wide, not intended for downhill. I'm not sure if I like them, but I haven't given them much a chance. Snowshoe-like and supposedly better on steep slopes or in dense forest, but on a recent trip I wish I had snowshoes.

Until it was time to go back down :cheeky:

* # ¿ Jan 4, 2016 17:31
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# ¿ May 14, 2024 23:52
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meselfs
Sep 26, 2015

The body may die, but the soul is always rotten

spwrozek posted:

I don't really know what this means but you use climbing skins to ski uphill.

Won't work on anything steep. For example, any hill in the pacific NW.

Ok I'll just come out and say it. I think snowshoes are awesome.

* # ¿ Jan 6, 2016 05:43
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meselfs
Sep 26, 2015

The body may die, but the soul is always rotten

spwrozek posted:

Yeah... You just like going slow in snowshoes. It is OK.

You can basically climb anything with skis and skins. Heel risers make it even easier but you should use the terrain to your advantage and make the climbing easier.

I kind of like all of you who love snowshoes. I haven't used my snowshoes in 5 years. Keep up the defense!

I don't like being slow, but the manual labor has its place. I also like to bike/bus to the mountain instead of driving there :)

I recently cut short a two day backcountry trip in part because of lack of snowshoes. The deep powder snow forest road approach on skis was awesome, but as soon as I set foot (err, ski) in the dense, steep forest I was hopeless. Some of it was lots of fun, but whenever it was too steep or dense the skis were a real pain. These are really short, wide skis that are supposed to be snowshoe replacement with big, draggy skins underneath.

Subalpine forests especially; lots of small bent trees huddled together on steep slopes.

Every tool has its place :).

* # ¿ Jan 7, 2016 20:59
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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Snowshoeing