February 28 – U.S. Snowshoe Days

nPostednon February 28, 2014

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Todaynis the start of the U.S. Snowshoe Championships at ProspectnMountain in Vermont. The best snowshoe racers from the U.S. andnaround the world will compete with 5 K and 10 K races and relaynraces.

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nSnowshoesnare especially designed for walking over the snow. They are meant tonbe much larger than ordinary shoes—while still being as light asnpossible—so that a person’s weight is distributed over a largernarea, and the person doesn’t sink into the snow. It’s important thatna snowshoe not accumulate a lot of snow, so they are designed to havenopenings (latticework) so that any snow that gets on top of the shoenwill fall through. A final feature that helps people walk on the snownis the fact that the toe of the snowshoe curves upward slightly.
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Traditionalnsnowshoes were made from wood with rawhide lacings. Modern snowshoesnare lighter, made with lightweight metal or plastic and syntheticnfabric lacings. Of course they have some sort of binding to hold thensnowshoes to boots. n

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nSomenpeople may need snowshoes for their jobs; snow shoes allow people tonwalk in areas with deep and frequent snowfall. I can imagine forestnrangers in some areas needing them, for example. However, mostnsnowshoes are designed for recreational use. People love to walk inngorgeous, untouched, powdery snow—as long as they don’t have tonslog thigh-high through the drifts!

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So,nyeah, walking through pristine powder is great – but running?nI imagine that is really, really tiring! It must be worth it,nthough—hundreds of people join in the races!