Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with snowshoeing

Snowshoeing, skating, or skiing for n00bs

lukemeister — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:45:32 -0800

How can two oldsters, two college students, and a 15-year-old boy have fun in the snow or on the ice? My 21-year-old nephew and his girlfriend are coming to stay with me, my wife, and son in the Denver area right after New Year's. We'd like to take them to the mountains for a day trip or possibly overnight, but we're totally lame and don't know how to ski or skate. They probably know how to skate, but I don't think they ski. What would be fun and easy to learn? My wife has rheumatoid arthritis, so downhill skiing is right out.

Kids + Snow = Fun. Help Us Keep It That Way!

scrump — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:22:24 -0800

We're going to be introducing our nearly-4-year-old son to the joys of snowshoeing, igloo-building and possibly even snow-camping this season. Help us not screw it up for him! We want our son to have a joyful, happy introduction to "serious" snow-play this winter. In particular, we want to avoid letting our preconceptions turn it into some hellish forced-march kind of nightmare for him. So we're turning to you, MeFites who run around with their kids in the snow!

Our background: experienced outdoorspeople with extensive two-adult, four-season backpacking/camping/hiking resumes in the Western US, particularly the Sierras. Both of us have the body of knowledge to safely snowshoe and/or camp in winter conditions, and both of us have enough safety and wilderness medical training to, if necessary, protect and evacuate an injured hiker.

Our son's experience: flat hiking up to two miles with a very light load (his Diego backpack with a water bottle, snacks and a windbreaker), car camping both at sea level and elevation, and scramble-hiking on trails in various national parks and places like Sandia Mountain in New Mexico.

We want him to, above all, have fun. We'd also like to give him the experience of snowshoeing into a place with just what we're carrying, and making a camp in the snow, complete with building an igloo. So here's our list of questions:

What should we shoot for, given his age?
How should we expect him to react to this?
What do kids this age REALLY like to do in the snow?
From those of you who've done this: what are your tips and tricks?

Thanks in advance!

Please hope us find some snow!

M.C. Lo-Carb! — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:17:59 -0800

My wife and I would like to go snowshoeing in Colorado. Next week. Where, if at all, could we find enough snow? Leaving from Albuquerque, NM, we'd like to take a quickie 3-day trip to Colorado and go snowshoeing somewhere next weekend. Proximity to a town with a hotel would be nice, but not a necessity -- camping in snow is fine. The more off-the-beaten-path, the better -- we have a 4WD and snow-chains, and would gladly drive to avoid crowds of people.

Added difficulty: we're taking our 3 dogs, so national parks are out.

I see plenty of ski reports showing snow accumulation, but it's hard to tell whether that is referring to man-made snow. I can't find any Internet resources that describe natural, real-time snow depth at altitude in, say, Arapaho Natl. Forest or similar. I'm hoping some MeFite living there can provide an on-the-spot report, and maybe even recommend an awesome trail. Or inform me that finding any appreciable snow cover in November is hopeless.

Any ideas?

________ing in a winter wonderland

aleahey — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:49:54 -0800

My fiancee and I are very outdoorsy. This summer we enjoyed hiking, mountain biking and kayaking. We're looking for some low-cost winter sports and outdoor activities so that we can continue to enjoy the great outdoors through the late fall, winter and early spring. So, outside of cross country skiing and snowshoeing, what do MeFites enjoy doing outside in the wintertime?

Snowshoeing advice.

arielmeadow — Sun, 11 Jan 2004 11:56:06 -0800

I'd like to try snowshoeing. Any snowshoers out there with advice for a novice? Essential gear? Tips? Pacific Northwest trail suggestions?