SNOWSHOEING IS GETTING HOT,
Simple, affordable and socially distanced,
When the pandemic struck in the height of the 2020 ski season, closing the downhill ski mountain in Breckenridge, Colorado, the Breckenridge Nordic & Snowshoe Adventure Center found families turning to its snow sports, which were, by their natures, socially distanced, pandemic or not.
“Parents were home-schooling their children who didn’t have PE or sports teams or clubs or rec centers,” said Therese Dayton, program manager for the recreational area, home to a retail shop, rental gear and more than 12 miles of snowshoe trails in the White River National Forest. “We were wiped out of any children’s equipment by May.”
Where downhill skiing takes training and cross-country skiing often demands stamina, snowshoeing doesn’t require a class or even a demonstration to master – if you can walk, say its fans, you can snowshoe – making snowshoeing an easy-access snow sport for recreationalists who don’t want to give up on the outdoors this winter.
“We saw a huge spike in outdoor activity” in the spring, said Nick Sargent, president of Snowsports Industries America, a nonprofit trade association. “It wasn’t just backcountry or uphill skiing. It was snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, fattire biking, winter running, sledding, all those sports and activities that you can do without a resort chairlift, things you can do from home and in the backyard.”
GEAR SALES SPIKE
Like bikes in the spring, which surged in sales – up nearly twothirds over the year before, according to the retail analysts NPD Group – snowshoes are poised to be the hot seller in the pandemic’s first full winter.
From August through October, snowshoe sales grew more than 250% compared to the same period the year before, outpacing gains of all backcountry equipment sales, which are uniformly up, according to NPD. But at outdoor retailer REI Co-op, sales of snowshoes are up fourfold compared to last year (its cross-country ski sales, which have tripled, aren’t far behind).
Adult snowshoes at REI run from about $160 to $300. Children’s snowshoes start around $40.
Ben Johns, REI’s general mer
chandising manager for action sports, tied the sales to a rise of interest in “non-lift-assisted” activities, including backcountry skiing, outside of resorts.
“There’s more social distancing and less expense and you can go spontaneously,” Johns said.
According to Snow
Sports Insights, a market research firm, snowshoe participation grew more than 12% last season, to
3.6 million participants.
“It’s on fire,” said Brendan Madigan, owner of Alpenglow Sports shop in Tahoe City, California, which sells snowshoes along with gear for other snow sports, noting a boom in “human-powered sports” that free people from clustering in resorts.
A BEGINNER-FRIENDLY WINTER SPORT
Among winter activities, snowshoeing tends to be accessible both in terms of expense and skill, especially for those who live in snowy climates.
“Most winter sports are expensive,” Madigan said. “Snowshoeing, on the other hand, is easily attainable. That has to be a feeder to the growth of the category.”
Snowshoes attach to your winter boots, so there is no dedicated footwear required. Poles are optional but will help you keep your balance, especially on sloping terrain; REI has poles from about $45 a pair. (If you have trekking poles, make sure to add “snow baskets” – about $8 a pair at REI – to the tips to keep them from sinking too far down in the snow).
Rather than commuting to a resort and paying for access, you can snowshoe almost anywhere, including urban parks.
“It’s very affordable as long as you’re not having to drive great distances to get to snow,” said Mark Elmore, sports director for the U.S. Snowshoe Association, which organizes snowshoe championship races, who has owned, auctioned or donated roughly 500 pairs of snowshoes since 1987.
The wide frames of snowshoes disperse your weight and hold you aloft closer to the surface while small teeth on the bottom of the shoes grip the snow, allowing you to walk more naturally, rather than sinking deeply with every step.
Provided you don’t wander into the backcountry without avalanche training, snowshoeing is relatively safe.
“There’s low risk for danger or injury,” Sargent, of Snowsports Industries America, said. “The biggest danger is venturing into the outdoors and getting lost, but you have yourself to follow and backtrack.”
FAMILY-FRIENDLY FUN
Because it doesn’t require special skills, snowshoeing suits all ages, experts say.
It’s important to ensure children are dressed warmly and remain hydrated, according to Emily Stone, the naturalist and education director at Cable Natural History Museum in Cable, Wisconsin, who, before the pandemic, often led snowshoeing field trips for third graders.
“It feels kind of funny on their feet at first, but they have a ton of fun especially if the snow is super deep,” she said. “One of the biggest challenges with kids is getting them to stay upright because they love to flop in the snow.”
Snowshoeing is also an explorer’s sport, as bushwhacking is easier when the leaves are down and pests like deer ticks aren’t a threat. Winter also reveals signs of abundant wildlife, which can be more obscure in other seasons.
“We call it ‘see-through season,’” Stone said. “It’s incredible how the world comes alive. You think winters are dead, but there’s a lot that’s active in the winter.”