Cross training - does anyone snowshoe?

[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]

This thread came at just the right time as I was planning to buy some snowshoes. Lisa, I purchased some women's 25 Odyssey snowshoes too. We're supposed to have snow and freezing rain for a few days so I'm anxious to go play in the snow. A life-time 28 years ago my family rented cross-country skis to see if we liked it enough to purchase the equipement. My husband and 2 boys got their skis on first and I had my stuff on all of 3 minutes when I fell and broke my elbow. I now have completely put that out of my mind. After all I'm much wiser-cautious,and at 56 very young at heart. I'll keep you posted on my new endeavour.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey LBTC,
Are you by any chance using snowshoes that have the heel attached? Isn't the back part of the shoe supposed to remain relatively dropped down and sort of drag along the top of the snow as you lift your foot and bring it forward in the next step? Is your shoe pivoting from the ball of your foot? I would think if you have the heel part clamped on then it would more likely flip up when you walk and fling snow up on your backside. Some shoes come with a little heel bar that you can flip up to secure your heel when climbing thus saving your calves- perhaps you have that and are using it on flats when you shouldn't be? Just some thoughts...

This thread came at just the right time as I was planning to buy some snowshoes. Lisa, I purchased some women's 25 Odyssey snowshoes too. We're supposed to have snow and freezing rain for a few days so I'm anxious to go play in the snow. A life-time 28 years ago my family rented cross-country skis to see if we liked it enough to purchase the equipement. My husband and 2 boys got their skis on first and I had my stuff on all of 3 minutes when I fell and broke my elbow. I now have completely put that out of my mind. After all I'm much wiser-cautious,and at 56 very young at heart. I'll keep you posted on my new endeavour.

Wow Cosc, that's some story!! I'm 52 and this winter activity stuff is all new to me. I think snowshoeing is supposed to be WAY easier than x-country skiing, or certainly downhill skiing!! You might want to get some poles to feel extra secure...I did. The heavy duty crampons on these are very reassuring. We have lots of hills here and we tend to get packed snow with accumulations of ice underneath.
It's so cool that you got the very SAME exact shoes as I did!!! I love that. Did you get yours yet? Too bad we can't go shoeing together! (I assume you are far from me)

My snowshoes arrived today!!!! Woo-HOOO!
They fit wonderfully, and are SO well made, even DH was much impressed and he's a Tough Customer! I didn't have to be concerned about my big feet and big boots at all- the bindings are able to handle my absolute clunkiest biggest winter boots of all. They adjust in several directions, so they are readily adaptable to varied boots. The crampons are awesome. I am SO pleased. Now I have everything I need: snowshoes, poles, gaiters, and even a snowshoe carrying bag that zips closed and you can lash the poles to. Well, I need maybe one more thing though.....SNOW.
I can't wait to go tromping at the first 5" snowfall we get.

Heres another nice thing- this morning DH and I were having breakfast at the village cafe before heading out on our bike ride. We were making our ride plans on a map when a couple at the table next to us introduced themselves saying they love biking too. They live in a neighboring town and are similar age as us and they like to ride the same way we do- easy paced bike touring around the local countryside. She is a teacher at my old school and is still commuting to work in the cold on her bike. Then I mentioned I just bought snowshoes and it turns out they bought some last year and love to do that as well! So we exchanged info and will plan on doing some rides and shoeshing together hopefully soon. Bikes make good things happen.

[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!