Cross training - does anyone snowshoe?

[LBTC]

Way to go, Lisa!

With a good 4" of fresh snow today, DH and I just bought the Atlas snowshoes, mine are women's specific 1023, his 1025. They feel good, the bindings are easy to use, and we definitely burn more calories while we are outside in them!

We just went to a local dog trail loop and the dogs and we really enjoyed the whole thing. I just need to get waterproof pants and figure out how to not shoot snow all over my backside! My bum is very cold and was very wet!!

Off to look at gore tex pants....

(this is way above gaitor height!)

Happy snow to everyone, no matter how you get out to enjoy it!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

LBTC,
That's so THRILLING, you and DH and dogs all out there snowshoeing for the first time together today in fresh snow!! How great is THAT? (dogs were using thier "natural" snowshoes though)
Interesting about the wet bum issue- I'll have to see if that happens to me. I did get gaiters so the snow wouldn't get in my boots. I imagine it depends on your walking style, your shoes, and the type of snow all combining to dictate the degree of "snow flip". Did your husband get snowflipbum too, or just you??

I'm so happy for you- I can hear the excitement in your post!

[LBTC]

I'm very very happy now as I sit on my hot pack to warm up my bum! hahahaha

DH had much less snow flip than I did. Definitely a lot on his calves, and the occasional splat onto the bottom of his jacket, but not much else. His pants were more waterrepellent than mine, he's taller, and he just didn't have as much snow flipping up as I did! Try as I did to keep my shoes flat, slide my feet forward, even exagerating my weight onto my heels, the snow still flipped up. I think the gore-tex cycling jacket I have that covers most of my bum will really help, and I should have better moisture wicking pants under the shell pants. It's not cold today, so I wasn't that worried about it, but even a cycling tight would have been better, I think.

So now I'm searching online for Gore Tex pants. MEC has 3 to choose from, but only one that is marginally affordable. REI does not have a Gore Tex women's pant even though they have 3 to choose from in men's. We have a FarWest store, but that brand does not make a women's Gore Tex pant either. It's amazing. It's like manufacturers think women don't DO things! heehee

And, yes, the fresh snow is fabulous and the dogs had a fantastic time! They got enough of a workout to be resting quietly now instead of insisting we play with the squeak!

When are you going to try your new shoes, Lisa??

Oh and if anyone has any suggestions of where to get gore tex pants (that are remotely affordable) please post!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

When are you going to try your new shoes, Lisa??

1) I just ordered them 2 hours ago, and they won't get shipped out until tomorrow...
2) We haven't had any snow at ALL yet here in upstate NY! Temps still in the 30's and 40's. We're still biking! Weird. Last year we had abnormally small amounts of snow, hope to get some soon...(but not before my snowshoes get here!) A typical winter here we'll get quite a few 3" falls, a few 6-8"ers, and maybe a couple of 10-15" falls. Of course there's way more up in the nearby Berkshire mountains, if I wanted to drive up there to ski country...

Hey maybe you should call Atlas and ask them about your snow flip- they should know all about that and what to do. Are you sure you have the right style and the right size for the kind of snowshoeing you are doing? It can't hurt to call them, surely you'll learn something helpful- they might even suggest you exchange them for another style with them at no charge.
Or perhaps it was just a factor of the type of snow you had today.

Are you looking at ski gear for waterproof pants?- that might be a good place to find them...or snowboarding wear?

[Crankin]

I don't wear waterproof pants when i snow shoe or X country ski. I have a pair of wool Ibex pants that are water resistant and very warm. I wear them for the above activities and for cycling when it is 40 or less degrees. I fall a lot when skiing, and I've never been soaked through. You should look in the Athleta catalog for waterproof pants. They are having a big sale now on that stuff. Sierra Trading Post also has a lot of this stuff, too, but it's a search to look through their web site.
No snow here, another day of cycling... I think Al Gore is right!

[Aint Doody]

The "snow flip" phenomona is puzzling. I have a good friend I go with who ends up with a solid white rear from the waist to her heels. Not me, I'm not a flipper. Others flip only halfway up their legs. I'm quite slew-footed--maybe that's a good thing on snowshoes.

[LBTC]

I'm quite slew-footed--maybe that's a good thing on snowshoes.

I had to look up slew-footed....from what I gather it's like the dance term for having good "turn-out". I have that. For years I've concentrated on trying to keep my toes pointing straight ahead as it seemed to help me avoid some hip pain I would experience....maybe I shouldn't try that so much!

Probably the next snowshoe day is on Saturday. I'll try some new moves then.

oh, yes, and both DH and I can feel those glute muscles that desperately, for both of us, need to work hard. YAY!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[cosc]

Lucky me-5 to 6 in. of snow here. My dh and I went for a hike with my new snowshoes. What a fun to be outdoors and see the beauty of the season. The snowshoes worked great. Easy to get in and out and I was upright the entire time. I didn't get any snow flip! I'm a duck walker too. My dh was impressed with how well I did, but he didn't know how easy it was since he just had on his winter boots. Some advice to the newbies, don't over do like I did. The muscle that lifts my leg is going to have to recuperate a few days. I hope the snow doesn't melt before I'm able to get out again. I definitley need to cross-train. Lisa I'm glad you found some other snowshoers-bicyclist in your area because SD is too far to go for a Odyssey snowshoe outing.
Here's wishing all the snowshoers a good amount of snow!