[Cdt-l] Snowshoes

[ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com]

Excellent advice, Jonathan! We couldn't agree more from the PCT perspective...

Ned Tibbits
Mountain Education
South Lake Tahoe, Ca
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jonathan Ley 
  To: CDT MailingList 
  Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 6:00 PM
  Subject: Re: [Cdt-l] Snowshoes


  A couple quick thoughts on snowshoes vs. skis on the CDT. I agree that skis would work well in many cases, and could save you considerable effort. But, snowshoes are generally lighter and easier to take on/off and store/carry. Plus, you can strap snowshoes onto any type of shoe. whereas with skis, you need a special shoe or boot. If your path takes you over miles of snow, then over miles of trail, back to snow, and a mix in-between, I think it'd be a lot easier to manage everything with some snowshoes. 

  Also, snowshoes take basically zero skill, and chance for injury is low. If you're faced with a steep uphill or downhill on skis, you really need to know what you're doing, lest you smack a tree, snap a knee or worse. Snowshoes also work in a greater variety of snow conditions. If you're faced with a crust of jagged ice covering 5 feet of slop underneath, or really bad suncups (not an uncommon situation in late spring / early summer), it can be really hard to turn on skis. 

  I've been really happy with MSR snowshoes. Their Lightning Ascent's are lighter than their plastic ones. The nice thing about all of them is that they hold an edge from any direction, and are more durable than some lighter varieties. 




  Paul Magnanti wrote: 
In the Rockies, why not get skis?  Wide open areas perfect for kicking and gliding. 

A good pair of backcountry skis with fishscales (perfect for beginners) and some boots
cost less used than most snowshoes. (Harder to find used snowshoes in good condition).

Snowshoes make more sense in the heavily wooded East than the Rockies IMO.

I've hauled 50 lbs (wine and marinated pork roast add up in weight) on skis..so they
can be used for backpacking quite easily.

I plodded on snowshoes..I switched to skis and now I glide. :)


 ************************************************************
The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust 
caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched
--Thoreau
http://www.pmags.com
http://www.redbubble.com/people/pmags/art
http://www.facebook.com/pmags

_______________________________________________
Cdt-l mailing list
Cdt-l at backcountry.net
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/cdt-l

  

  __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4712 (20091223) __________

  The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

  http://www.eset.com



------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  _______________________________________________
  Cdt-l mailing list
  Cdt-l at backcountry.net
  http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/cdt-l



  __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4712 (20091223) __________

  The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

  http://www.eset.com

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/cdt-l/attachments/20091228/e9fb61f9/attachment.html