Snow hiking

Last weekend a group of co-workers and I ventured out to play in the snow, via snowshoes. We started out on a groomed path, but got antsy and branched off onto the hillsides. I'm not sure I could have asked for a more pristine setting, with ridge after ridge in untouched powder — that is until we came and moshed all over it.

I spent a lot of the time bragging about my new MSR Ascent snowshoes, made specifically for women. They weigh only three pounds and have a bar you can bend up during climbing to prop your heal up. My mom got them for me for Christmas. (See the phone, where I am demonstrating their capabilities, while doing a bit of ninja apparently).

As if to prove my point about how great they are, James promptly jumped off a small cliff and broke his snowshoes clean in half. Meanwhile, Walt carried his cup of coffee the entire time.


It turns out you can half slide, half sled downhill, despite the claws on your feet. We spent a lot of time doing that, which meant a steep climb on the way back out. No matter. I had these great snowshoes that I can use to walk up the sides of walls. I think Mount Everest is my next attempt.


Lesson learned: My snowshoes rock.