Although some of you fellas on here will experience far more snow than we have at the moment (about 14" and into the third week), I am asking for advise or thoughts on whether snow shoes or cross country skis would be the answer for getting around at work?

Primarily need to cover about 3 miles a day checking fox holes in the snow and getting upto crow cages. Some of the going is steep and some into trees. My thoughts are that snow shoes might be cheaper and more convenient (wouldn't need to buy specialist boots as they could be fixed onto my Meindls? and that they could be attatched to my backpack when not needed.

What are the things to look for and recommended manufacturers please?

Regards NW

nightwalker

use the skis as walking with snow shoes are really though on you when you are not used to them.

get the skis as wide as possible, so they can ride on the top of the snow, and prepare yourself for quite a few falls to begin with

it is an aquirred taste but you might end up liking it in the end, who knows you might have to

best

peter

I would say that the opposite is true, its easier to learn to walk with snowshoes than skies. but when you can use the skies they are much better than snowshoes. So if you going to use them only when extreme weather occurs, maybe the effort to learn to use skies is not worth it.

STIG

stig
i was not talking about the learning curve as that is different for many people, and i cant remember myself as i were thaught to ski from age 3 years old.
i meant that snow shoes take a lot more of your energy to transport you from A to B.

best

peter

Peter,
then I completely agree with you! Beeing Norwegian I too have been taught skiing from early age!

STIG

actually it were in your beautyfull country that i learned it

best

peter

I use this!

For regular vinterboots

http://www.tegsnas.com/eng1.html

http://www.tegsnas.com/epok2.html

Skis are very good way to get around, but as the others said get wider skis, not skis for ski tracks. That said Sondre Norheim got it right when he invented the telemark turn, that is the only way to go down the slopes.

I would say it depends much on the actual terrain.
If you just have to move around checking out your land at a leasury pace, in and out of woods, up and down small hills in soft/deep snow, I would use snow shoes.

If the terrain is more even, longer stretches, rather hard packed snow, I would go for skis.


Tubbs has good snow shoes and many models, same with Atlas.
The modern snowshoes are lite and rather narrow, which mean one can walk in a more normal way and not as a duck.
Using poles helps a lot and save energy.

When hunting, snowshoes make a more stable "platform" to shoot from standing, than skis ..... (usually)
Just my two cents

When you guys are talking about "ski's", what sort are you talking about?

I suspect most Brits are familar with "downhill" ski's where as Im betting in the Scandinavian countries cross country ski is more popular and probably the style mre appropriate to Nightwalkers situation...

With cross country skis, are special boots needed?

Pete.
I use cross country/mountain skis with bindings of the rater oldfashioned Telemark "Rottefella" type (means rat trap).
To use these you need special shoes with a prolonged sole up front where the binding clamps down on.

Other more modern types, are more streamlined "step in" bindings, but common for all is that you need shoes that match the type of binding you use.

The Mountain/Telemark skis have pronounced inswing at the middle, rather broad, float ok in soft snow and turn easely.
I prefere steel edges on my mountain skis.

Pete E.: I am talking about skies who need special shoes.
http://www.asnes.com/ProductDetails.aspx?cat=35
mountain skies

To get the benefits skiing gets over snowshoes, you need literaly months of training. As Arild points out, what terain and conditions are you going to work in? The main advantage of skies over snow shoes, is that you can "rest" while still moving. Too accomplish that, you need lots and lots of practice. If conditions is perfect, say 5 below zero centigrade, hard packed snow, you might get it to work after not too long time, if up and down, loose snow, old snow, icy conditions its get worse and worse to get the advantage. When get to go downhill, its takes practice to go down without falling, and falling is exhausting and dangerous.

I would like you to go out and learn cross country sking, its lot of fun! but takes some time to get it!

STIG

Stigonom is right, but just for the fun of it here are the diff of the wide cross country skis and telemarkskis. My wife is on CC skis as she does not tele and walked down, and I am on the tele skis. Pic are from last summer on mount Hekla (it is now about to erupt). For downhill in icy Iceland it is good to have fat skis for breakable crust.

Scarpa leather boots, rossignol skis 50mm, rottefella binding and skins

Rossignol big bang, 7tm binding and scarpa T1 (old)

Osprey switch backpack and Black Diamond ski poles

quote:

Originally posted by Nordic2:
I use this!

For regular vinterboots

http://www.tegsnas.com/eng1.html

http://www.tegsnas.com/epok2.html

Very cool, old school skis

I use one pair of tegsnäs woodskies and one pair of åsnes plastic with steel edge. The tegsnäs is better in soft snow. With their large bearingsurface they are easy to work/hunt on because they are slow and not so slippery in the snow. The åsnes tourski i use in sticky snow they have a smaller bearingsurface and are lighter and faster but they are tricky to work on.


I once met a old foxhunter probably 80y old he hunted with snares. He had 3 pairs of skis on his car, one pair was tegsnäs with plasticsole, one was regular crosscountryskies the last pair had hisfather made for him then he was a child of bjorkwood he had repaired them with a piece of wood.

Question for you x-country ski guys.

Are the poles you use the same length as for downhill skiing?


- stu

StuC.
Cross country poles are longer. They should fit under your armpits.
Some like them even longer, about shoulder height.
It´s also important that they have a bigger "pad or disc" (don´t knove the correct English word ) at the end than the racing counterpart.

This is my outfit. Nothing extreme, but ok for back country and cross country use.

quote:

Question for you x-country ski guys.

Are the poles you use the same length as for downhill skiing?


- stu