I love carving big, swooping turns down steep runs at the alpine resorts that dot the Sierra. But for a change of pace, nothing’s more sublime than kicking and gliding through a backcountry meadow on a crisp winter night, especially with a full moon reflecting off the snow and illuminating the surrounding trees and mountains. [...]

The advent of smaller, lighter and more flexible snowshoes in the last several years has made the sport more appealing to more people. The compact stainless-steel frames are easier to use than their long, wooden ancestors, for one thing. And because of innovative clamps and clips, the work involved in putting them on and taking [...]

Snowshoers have been frustrated in the search for a boot that gives both warmth and support. But Lowa’s Paluk GTX fills the need, gear reviewer Dan Nelson finds. Even though snowshoeing has grown in popularity every year for the last 15 or so years, participants still struggle to find quality footwear appropriate for their sport. [...]

Snowshoes have been around since ancient times. Some clever human who was sick of wading through snowbanks decided that strapping a platform to his feet would keep him from sinking so far in the snow and make walking in it a whole lot easier. Some of the snowshoes we still walk around on today are [...]

The growing popularity of snowshoeing has brought with it misplaced confidence that the strap-on footwear is appropriate for venturing into icy or steep terrain, a rescue veteran said yesterday after one young man slid to his death and another couple had to be rescued from a snowshoe outing. “People have a false sense of security [...]

For hundreds of years, snowshoe technology remained unchanged. Wood and rawhide provided the foundation of design. Then came the revolution. In the 1970s, brothers Bill and Gene Prater founded Sherpa Snowshoe Co., with snowshoes featuring aluminum frames and synthetic decking. In the 30-plus years since then, snowshoe design and construction has continued to evolve and [...]

Sure, you love the outdoors and the snow, but you’d rather toboggan down the Matterhorn – at Disneyland – than wade into the usual downhill ski-and-board crowds. Now that the clocks have been set back an hour, winter snows are not far behind and alternative ski options abound. Here are five that come to mind. [...]

Running in snowshoes along a snow-covered path, I am surrounded by winter’s magic. Thick snow drapes the trees and a fox’s prints stitch a pattern across a meadow’s white quilt. The ground feels like a soft mattress where everything glitters and glistens. It is stone silent.??While most trail runners wait until the spring thaw to [...]

If you’re tired of the winter, and more importantly if you’re tired of the gym, you might explore what snow shoeing has to offer. If you’re looking for a good alternative to the treadmill or elliptical machine, most outdoor retail shops sale or rent show shoes for a very reasonable fare, pick yourself up a [...]

This article caught our attention in the Winter 2009 Issue of Wilderness Medicine Magazine. Winter doesn’t have to be a stay-at-home season. There are plenty of opportunities to get your kids into the outdoors. With some basic equipment, reading, lessons and tapping into your own experiences, you can equip your kids and give them skills [...]