SKAHOw 2012

[Alamosa]

That looks like an awesome adventure and based on your comments, it sounds like everyone had a great time. Thanks for taking us along.

[Shug]

Wow, Wow, Wow.......
Yeah.....more fuel is what I always find out as well.
Looks like a fantastic time.
Shug

[ernesthemmingway]

amazing trip report. Thank for posting. I find those pictures fascinating.

[erikayak]

The landscape is amazing! How did the snowshoes work out?

[Joz]

The landscape is amazing! How did the snowshoes work out?

The snowshoes were essential around camp. Without them you couldn't really move around without sinking 1 meter deep every step.

But they were not enough when moving between camps. You needed skis. The snow was too deep for snowshoes. And even with the skis it was really hard work.

Edit: PS: Tjenis och välkommen!

[fotografiskt]

Looks great!

[BrianWillan]

The snowshoes were essential around camp. Without them you couldn't really move around without sinking 1 meter deep every step.

But they were not enough when moving between camps. You needed skis. The snow was too deep for snowshoes. And even with the skis it was really hard work.

Joz

I am confused by your statement that snow can be too deep for snowshoes. Unless the snowshoes you brought weren't large enough to give proper floatation for the type and amount of snow. Whether using skis or not, the floatation game is all about distributing your weight over the largest possible practical surface area. So if your skis worked and your snowshoes didn't then clearly your snowshoes weren't big enough to provide the same level of floatation.

Cheers

Brian

[Joz]

Well, to clarify then. Snowshoes were fine around camp, without the pulk, and for short distances. But out on the trail, they simply didn't work as well as skis. Hank tried to go on point a few times and make a track for the rest of us (he had only snow shoes, no skis), but it just didn't work. I suppose they were too small.

But even so, you sink down a fair few inches in fresh snow, skis or snowshoes. And you save a lot of energy just pushing your feet forward on skis instead of having to lift them up every step with snowshoes. So I'm just glad I had skis as well as snowshoes.

Hank? Input?

[moski]

Joz

I am confused by your statement that snow can be too deep for snowshoes. Unless the snowshoes you brought weren't large enough to give proper floatation for the type and amount of snow. Whether using skis or not, the floatation game is all about distributing your weight over the largest possible practical surface area. So if your skis worked and your snowshoes didn't then clearly your snowshoes weren't big enough to provide the same level of floatation.

Cheers

Brian

The new snow we got was powder and the old snow was like suger.
And i can't see any snowshoe or ski float on that ?
Outside of the snowmobile track or our old tracks it was hell !

But i think you can be partly right, b/c Hank (snowshoes) sunk through even as third, so the snowshoes was probebly to small.

Only people with skis broke trail and that was hard enough.
I don't think it would have been doable with snowshoes ?

But i don't think it was the snow depth that was the problem, it was so much more hard work.

With the skis you can glide a part of the step and the snowshoe doesn't do that.

PS, We are a sking nation and snowshoes is a fairly new thing over here

*EDIT*
Argg, you got there ahead of me
And i was pretty happy with my secret ninja skis

[Joz]

Argg, you got there ahead of me

It's a slow day at the post office.