Fill in your divots!

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

I think us "older" guys can laugh at alot of these debates. I still have my wooden modified bearpaws, which I used to break out alot of 4ks and for traverses up high on the ridgelines. I actually had someone who I asked to hike this year, reply " I cant hike until I get my new MSR'S" they now own Tubs with the crampon binding, but feel they cant hike with them. Man we used to edge and crawl our way up all kinds of steep terrain with nothing but rawhide and wood stapped to out feet, crampon bindings, no such thing, you had to constantly switch from snowshoes to crampons. Those where the days.

Good stuff. I still have my pair of wooden bearpaws in the closet, which we used for "technical snowshoeing" on Mount Adams one winter. We punched an ice ax trough the boot hole to anchor one snowshoe, then moved up the other shoe to be anchored with a second ax. Once we got up a steep pitch, we would lower both axes to the second to repeat the procedure. Kicking steps with the snowshoes into the hard crust was out of the question, but when we tried cramponing, we post-holed up to our crotch. Later on we lashed pieces of old army crampons onto the snowshoes (proto-type Sherpa snowshoes), which sped things up immensely.

 

[Raven]

I could debate old gear verses new gear, but I wont. To be honest when given this topic some thought, I think the commen denominator in succesfull winter hikers is drive and ambition, which in the end overcomes any gear issues

Well said.

Gear doesn't climb the mountain.

 

[forestgnome]

Yawn...

There is no reason to single out MSRs--most snowshoes on the market these days are narrow. The reason that hikers can get away with small low-flotation snowshoes is the high traffic results in the vast majority of trails being broken out and packed before one gets there. And smaller snowshoes are lighter...

Back in the "good old days" when I started winter hiking there were a lot fewer people out there and we had to expect to break out the trails. Larger snowshoes were more efficient and we had to hike in groups to have enough manpower to do the job. FWIW, I have a perfectly good pair of 13x28 flat bearpaws that I haven't used in a while.

So blame the narrow-trench trails on winter hiking being too popular and hikers wanting lighter-weight gear.

Doug

You missed the points...

I said "MSR-type" and I'm sure the reader understands that it's the size of the shoe, not the brand, that causes the narrow track.

Not all snowshoes are the same. I'm not wearing relics; I'm wearing modern snowshoes that function in deep snow.

I made it clear that I accept the reality of the narrow track.

I'm simply pointing out to the posthole police that the narrow track they create is as problematic for some as postholes are to them, and they have no moral high ground.

In fact, I've seen trails where a single hiker wearing tiny snowshoes left a condition that could only be descibed as postholed.

They whine about others creating a problem for them as they create a problem for others. I don't know how to make it any more clear.

This is New Hampshire. Deal with conditions as they are. Say no to prohibitions.

 

[sierra]

Good stuff. I still have my pair of wooden bearpaws in the closet, which we used for "technical snowshoeing" on Mount Adams one winter. We punched an ice ax trough the boot hole to anchor one snowshoe, then moved up the other shoe to be anchored with a second ax. Once we got up a steep pitch, we would lower both axes to the second to repeat the procedure. Kicking steps with the snowshoes into the hard crust was out of the question, but when we tried cramponing, we post-holed up to our crotch. Later on we lashed pieces of old army crampons onto the snowshoes (proto-type Sherpa snowshoes), which sped things up immensely.

I love it, that sounds like some of my outings. I once considered screwing 2 inch screws through the wooden rails of my snowshoes to function like a crampon, but did not because I was afraid it would weaken the snowshoes and cause then to break. Speaking of old army crampons, I was descending the winter route on Lions head and found an old crampon that had army type green webbing on it, the points are more rounded then flat by design, my guess is that they are a least 40 yrs old or older, Im plan on taking them to IME maybe rick wilcox can pinpoint the date but there freakin old. My guess is that they have been laying there for years and the snow pulled them up they where hanging froma Kruhmholz branch.

 

[RoySwkr]

I once considered screwing 2 inch screws through the wooden rails of my snowshoes to function like a crampon, but did not because I was afraid it would weaken the snowshoes and cause then to break.

Richard Clark did it because he considered commercial crampons too wimpy, he used hardened bolts sharpened to a pencil point

I was descending the winter route on Lions head and found an old crampon that had army type green webbing on it, the points are more rounded then flat by design, my guess is that they are a least 40 yrs old or older,

I think I have some, a lot of cold-weather mil surplus dates to Korean War so like 60 years old now

 

[Tim Seaver]

Back in the Day...

As long as we are regressing to nostalgia ...

Herr Malden's Custom Snowshoes - Vintage 1980

Back in the day, not only were the trails uphill both ways, but you had to make your own shoes!

These are a pair of shoes I built during...umm..off-time while I was working as the lone 3rd shift plant mechanic/machinist at a textile mill in the late 80's. "Government Work" was what we called such projects at the time, if I remember right.

I built them around some Sherpa bindings, with perlon cord and varnish for the mid-deck, and plastic from those roll-up kiddie sleds for the toe and rear deck. It had a rigid axle (!) with big stainless steel teeth that fit over some A-frame shapes that were notched into the I-beam aluminum frame, the idea stolen from Tubb's Snow Spyder of that era ( pretty sure it was Tubbs - anyone know?)

They weigh about 5 pounds each and are flat as a board. A fall the wrong way would probably break things, and I am not talking about the 1/4" stainless axle.

After I was able to afford commercial snowshoes, the Malden Shoes were generally "awarded" to any new hiking recruits for their first hike in order to encourage them to get their own damn shoes.

 

[chinooktrail]

Hum, that textile mill wasn't located in Lawrence by any chance?

Very creative...

 

[Tim Seaver]

That was the Barre, VT plant before it shut down.

I feel so much better confessing to my Govt. work after all these years.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

After I was able to afford commercial snowshoes, the Malden Shoes were generally "awarded" to any new hiking recruits for their first hike in order to encourage them to get their own damn shoes.

Ha, ha, ha, ha. I did the same thing with my old wood snowshoes after I got my first pair of Sherpas. I wonder what ever happened to those old girlfriends?

 

[RoySwkr]

the I-beam aluminum frame, the idea stolen from Tubb's Snow Spyder of that era ( pretty sure it was Tubbs - anyone know?)

I remember the Tubbs Snow Spyder, never owned any myself but one of the early NE112w people had some

Feeding the webbing through the I-beam web instead of wrapping it around where it was subject to more abrasion sounded good to me. This idea was adopted for the Michigan-pattern US Army magnesium shoes which I do have a pair of.