Snowshoes and Skis

How snowshoes work

A snowshoe spreads your weight over a much larger area so you stay near the surface instead of post-holing, sinking with every step, which is slow and exhausting ¹. Animals like the snowshoe hare, lynx, and wolf have the same adaptation built into their feet ¹.

Laced-frame snowshoes are a North American development. Early European explorers described Native peoples using webbed, wood-framed snowshoes very like today’s Ojibwe and Michigan styles, with designs varying from nation to nation to suit local snow and terrain ¹: shorter, compact shoes for forest, and Cree shoes up to six feet long for deep snow in open country ¹.

Traditional shapes

Construction: frames of a strong, bendable wood, especially ash, steam-bent and joined with crossbars, laced with animal hide or sinew ¹. The center section under the foot is laced heavier than the toe and heel. North House and other folk schools teach making them, and it’s a good winter shop project after the woodworking and green-wood courses.

Modern snowshoes

Aluminum frames and plastic or fabric decks with crampons under the binding have mostly replaced wood for recreation in the last few decades ¹. They’re lighter and grip ice and hardpack better; wood shoes are quieter, float beautifully in powder, and can be repaired in the field.

Sizing: choose by your weight plus your pack. Manufacturers list a load range for each length. Pick the smallest shoe that floats your loaded weight for everyday packed trails, and a larger one for deep, light powder or heavy loads like a winter camping pack.

Bindings: snug but not tight over insulated boots; you should be able to pivot at the toe.

Walking

• Walk normally with a slightly wider stance and longer stride so you don’t step on your own shoes ¹.
• Don’t bridge: never stand on a snowshoe supported only at the ends with a gap under the middle, the surest way to snap one ¹. Walk around logs and stumps or side-step over them ¹.
• Turn by walking around in a circle, or by flipping one foot and then the other 180 degrees ¹.
• Climb by kicking the toes in; descend with knees bent and weight back; traverse by edging the uphill side.
• Get up from a fall by rolling onto your back, getting your shoes under you, rolling onto your knees, and pushing up with your hands ¹. In deep snow, lay a pole flat to push against.
• Keep shoes cold before you start: warm snowshoes stick to snow and ice up ¹.
• Poles help with balance, climbing, and getting up.

Cross-country skis

Where trails or lakes allow, skis cover ground far faster than snowshoes, and pulling a pulk on skis is the classic way to travel the Boundary Waters in winter.

• Classic skis move in a stride and glide, kicking down to grip the snow under the middle of the ski. Grip comes from fish-scale patterns, synthetic skins, or kick wax chosen for the snow temperature.
• Skate skis push off the edges on groomed trails; fast, but not for backcountry or pulling loads.
• Backcountry touring skis are wider and metal-edged, with sturdier boots, for ungroomed trails and lakes.

Wisconsin is rich in groomed trails, from county forests to the American Birkebeiner trail at Cable-Hayward, which is a good place to learn before a trip.

Try it

Rent or borrow snowshoes for an afternoon. Walk a packed trail, then go off trail into deep snow and compare. Practice falling and getting up, side-stepping a log, and a kick turn. If you get hooked, build a pair of Michigan-style snowshoes from ash.

What to take from this

Snowshoes spread your weight to stop post-holing. Bearpaws turn easily in thick woods, Michigans track on varied terrain, Ojibwe and Alaskan shoes float in open, deep snow; traditional frames are ash laced with hide. Size modern snowshoes by loaded weight and snow type. Walk wide, never bridge, side-step obstacles, and roll to your knees to get up. Classic or touring skis move faster where trails or lakes allow.