Doing the snowshoe shuffle

By COLIN MOORE

Adventurous snow-boarders, and trampers who can't wait for summer, are dancing the snowshoe shuffle in the winter backcountry.

The shuffle - it's more like power walking - is the technique needed to effortlessly travel over soft snow on modern snowshoes.

The shoes are light years from the giant tennis rackets of Trapper Dan and have become hugely popular in the snowbound regions of North America where they are used for winter hiking and just keeping fit.

In New Zealand increasing numbers of snowboarders in search of untracked snow are shuffling off piste, particularly on the South Island ranges, and you won't find a store in places such as Wanaka that sells snowboards and not snowshoes.

The modern, oval-shaped shoes have a lightweight metal frame to which is attached a fabric decking so that they won't sink into the snow. The main difference from traditional snowshoes is that the foot has harness pivots to make walking easier and has metal cleats at the toe and heel for traction. The cleats work like crampons and do the same job of gripping the snow that used to be achieved with a traditional woven deck.

The fairly narrow shape and footbed pivot allow snowshoe shufflers to walk in a near normal stride.

I spent a couple of hours on snowshoes in Canada last year and it doesn't take long to get used to walking with a couple of large clown feet, particularly on the flat.

Going uphill requires a bit more care because you need to kick the front of your snowshoe into the snow and press down to compact it into a step.

To descend you keep your knees slightly bent, lean back and keep your weight on the heel cleats.

The most difficult manoeuvre is traversing a slope, which requires something of a crab movement to ensure the cleats do their job. Using ski poles makes it a lot easier.

Snowshoe garb is much the same as for any outdoor winter activity and generally lightweight, waterproof hiking boots are suitable footwear.

In places such as Cypress Mountain, a mountain resort near Vancouver, daily guided snowshoe tours are a standard attraction.

That option has yet to arrive at New Zealand ski areas - although it is probably only a matter of time because it would be an ideal way to go exploring when the snow is slushy and you want something different to do.

New Zealand-guided snowshoe tours tend to be a little more serious. Wanaka-based Mt Aspiring Guides, a mountain guiding company, offers a snowshoe option for trips to its backcountry hut on Black Peak behind the Treble Cone ski area. The isolated hut at 1800m on the slopes of the 2283m peak is used as a base for guided back-country ski and snowboard touring.

By using snowshoes, people who neither board nor ski can experience the adventure of backcountry mountain touring and the ambience of an overnight in a cosy mountain hut.

Mt Aspiring Guides offers an all-day snowshoe tour with one of its internationally qualified mountain guides. The tour to areas beyond the Treble Cone ski area includes transport from Wanaka, a handsome lunch and all equipment.

Alternatively, there is the more expensive option of helicopter transport to the Black Peak hut for one to three days of snowshoe-hiking.

Alpine Recreation, a Tekapo-based mountain guiding company, uses snowshoes for winter trips to its spectacularly sited Caroline Hut, on the Ball Pass crossing. In the summer the crossing is a three-day hike across the Pass but because of avalanche danger on the other side of the pass in winter, the snowshoe tourists retrace their steps to Mt Cook village.

However, a trip just to Caroline Hut using snowshoes is still a magic experience giving wonderful close-up views of New Zealand's highest peak.

In winter resort towns such as Wanaka you can hire snowshoes for about $15 a day. They cost about $250 to $500 to buy.

* * *

Mt Hotham ski and board area in Australia's Victorian high-country got a slight jump on New Zealand winter resorts with a dump of snow while our slopes were still bare. But last week's bitter blast from the South Pole soon changed that.

From Mt Ruapehu to the Remarkables the fields now have a good foundation. At Mt Ruapehu both the Whakapapa and Turoa fields have had more than 1m of snow on all slopes, a depth not achieved last season until mid-August.

As well, plunging temperatures for the first time this winter enabled snowmaking to begin in earnest.

Coronet Peak has had 55 guns blasting away on its M1 and Shirtfront runs to pretty much guarantee that they will be skiing well for next month's Queenstown Winter Festival.

Mt Hutt has also been busy adding machine-made snow to the good layer brought with the cold weather.

If you are getting impatient you can check out the conditions on the field websites, although most have yet to get their webcams up and running.

* Mt Aspiring Guides, ph (03) 443 9422, email info@mountaspiringguides.co.nz

Alpine Recreation, ph (03)680 6736, email climb@alpinerecreation.com

www.alpinerecreation.com

www.mountaspiringguides.co.nz

colinmoore@xtra.co.nz