Snowshoeing at night in the Jackson Gore section of Okemo Mountain Resort in Central Vermont. Photo: Martin Griff
By Martin Griff
Walking is one of the ways I keep my old body in somewhat young shape and today marks 346 days in a row that I have walked 10,000 or more steps according to the Garmin brand gizmo on my wrist. That’s about 6 miles a day and it takes me about 10 minutes to walk 1,000 steps.
That’s a lot of time spent hoofing around.
Skiing and bicycling are also part of my winter fitness arsenal, but they add little to the step count. With my hand fixed on the handlebar, hours of bicycling gives me no step credit and a day of skiing will give me about half my goal.
Slapping on snowshoes and heading up and down a snowy hill is a great way to get step credit.
While on my March boondoggle through Colorado, I’ve seen a lot of snowshoers along the sides of ski trails and it reminded me of my two times tackling ski slopes without skis.
The first slopeside snowshoe adventure was 14 years ago at Crested Butte in western Colorado.
I was with a group of ski journalists including Frida Waara, a winter loving woman who has traveled to both the north and south poles.
(Click here to be inspired by Frida’s adventures.)
Our Crested Butte adventure was at nighttime and every star in the universe was shining on us.
“What a gift!” Frida exclaimed.
That has become the catchphrase to our many adventures together and a reminder of that spectacular evening.
I again found myself on snowshoes in the dark this season at Okemo Mountain Resort in central Vermont. I had such a good time walking up and down Okemo’s snowy slopes that my wife, aka Ski Widow, suggested to her sister and brother in-law that the get me snowshoes as a holiday present.
What a gift!
Beginner Snowshoe Tips
(Note from the Brave Ski Mom: This is an excellent video with good basic information including tips for hiking uphill. Unlike many other videos I watched, it is not an overt sales pitch for a specific brand of snowshoe. It is subtitled very clearly in English.)
Before snowshoeing, skinning or hiking on resort trials, check the resort’s uphill policy for times and trails when andwhere these healthy activities are allowed.
Okemo, along with Mount Sunapee in southern New Hampshire and Crested Butte are managed by the Mueller family and are part of Vail’s Epic Pass for the 2018-19 season.
Martin Griff is living his ski bum dream this winter, traveling around North America, both North and South of the US/Canadian border. A journalist by education and profession he shares his thoughts, impressions, experiences and those things that puzzle him on Fridays.
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