Cold! Winter Hiking and Mountaineering Traction and Safe Movement for the Whole Family
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Trying to make a video about the various forms of movement and all of the considerations that go into making safe progress through winter conditions is pretty hard. There are just so many different disciplines, from snowshoeing to skiing to technical climbing and more. So, I admit that it felt like a bit of a cop out to just reference the snowshoeing series and ice axe series at a certain point in this one.
But, I was then confronted with a couple realities - or maybe rationalizations… but either way, it made sense in my head:
First, this new Cold! series really is for people just now getting out into winter conditions. It’s for beginners. And beginners don’t need to know all the sophisticated techniques before they know what techniques are useful and when. First know when to apply a technique, then you can dig into how to best apply that technique. Otherwise, it just becomes this flood of information with no real context for helping it stick in your brain. This way, you can choose the conditions you want to enter, partially because of the techniques you want to use, and then go deeper on getting the knowledge you really will need.
Second, I had already put together what I think are some pretty good videos on snowshoeing and using crampons with an ice axe. I truly think they are worth watching and have some good information.
So, while the video does go into some very basic techniques around foot placement and considerations that come from slick and snow dusted rocks, ice, and frozen terrain (simple things, like shortening your stride), it simply references back those other two series when the techniques get really - well - technical.
Another thing I think is worth highlighting is near the end when I talk about parents making steps in the snow that are spaced closely enough together that your kids can just follow along step for step. See, having an already made step is both way more secure and way less energy sapping when compared to breaking trail.
I’m a pretty small guy, about 5’ 6”, and I’ve been on many a climbing team with bigger fellas who aren’t used to taking small steps. And so, when it is their turn to lead and break trail (which is also the time I am supposed to be getting a rest from when I was breaking trail) it can be that I end up breaking my own trail, again, because I can’t make the stride lengths of these longer-limbed partners. It’s exhausting. Now imagine you are half the size or less of your climbing partners, like some of our kids.
So, really do think about the smallest in your group, and if you are a parent that is probably your kids. Make their lives a bit easier by taking tiny strides that leave well spaced boot pack that they can easily use. It will go a long way to keeping up their energy, their morale, and therefore the morale of the whole family (because we know kids’ moods shape the family’s collective mood).
Finally, for the gear heads (I know, because I am one), here are the various forms of traction my family uses that were also shown in the video: