How to Snowshoe Series: Ten Essentials of Equipment for Winter Hiking in the Front and Backcountry

When we talk to families about the “Ten Essentials,” by far the two most common questions we get are:

1) “What items do you have with you and the family?”

And…

2) “Do you really take all ten essentials with you on every trip out?”

For the first question, here is a gear list that provides what we typically would bring along when we do take along all ten essentials for a snowshoe. (You can also find gear lists for other kinds of trips by visiting here… and we are adding more gear lists all the time).

Which leads us to question number two: are the Ten Essentials really essential for every trip? Like everything in the outdoors, what to bring should really hinge on an assessment of risk. And risks change circumstance by circumstance.

As we discussed in the video, the term “backcountry” has an implied connotation of being beyond the reach of day-hikers. If we think about this in the summer months, that means going out beyond the crowds as opposed to near the popular trailheads. The distinguishing characteristic seems to be isolation. Why is this important? Well, other people can help if something goes wrong. There isn’t as strong of a need to be “self reliant” because you and a couple hundred of your closest friends are all in the same location. Common humanity will answer the call if you are in need of assistance, just as you would answer the call if someone else got in trouble.

But as risk profiles change, so should our calculations.

Let’s say we were out in the summer and attempting to summit a peak. There is an easy walkup to the summit, but there are also myriad technical routes. We decide to do a technical route. So, while we may be out - again - with a couple hundred of our closest friends near by (most of whom are on the walkup), we are putting our bodies into a physical position on the mountain that is hard to get to. Being reliant on others can quickly become a bad decision. First, we have limited the pool of people who can help to a very small subset of those with technical skills and equipment. That may, in fact, be nobody on that day. Second, and to me this is the bigger issue, we are now putting our potential rescuers at risk because we are located in a position that has inherent risk as someone tries to get to it. It takes a certain kind of moral turpitude to calculate that putting other people in danger is an okay backup plan. It may happen anyway, but we really try to avoid it.

So, which circumstance is a winter snowshoe from a day-hike trailhead? Is it a populated trail with many people who - in an emergency scenario - would need to help us get out via a fairly easy trail? Or are we in a more difficult position that has inherent risks if someone were to try to get to us if we happen to need assistance?

I can’t answer this for you in each circumstance, but I keep a couple of things in the back of my mind:

• There are a lot less people out in the winter

• The time windows in which I need to act in case of an emergency are shorter because the cold can complicate an emergency with the threat of other health issues like hypothermia and frostbite

• Travel isn’t as quick. I can run down a summer trail if I need to; I can’t run very well in snowshoes

• Many other parties may be intent on moving all day (say, like cross country skiers), unlike my kids who stop a lot, and therefore they may be dressed in thinner layers; if they need to stop to help us, they may be more at risk to the cold

• My risk tolerance is just smaller when the kids are out with me

So, if it wasn’t obvious, what I am saying is that winter travel is inherently more risky. Having your family out with you is inherently more risky. And my own risk tolerance would require me to be more self sufficient than not. So, for winter trips, I am more likely to bring more versus less by way of the “essentials.” Is that a right choice for you? I can’t answer that one.

That being said, when we are out snowshoeing, we are never really too far from a trailhead. We just don’t move fast enough to cover a lot of ground. So, if something were to require me or my wife to “head back for help,” we aren’t going to be taking a lot of time. So, in the gear list I referenced, for example, you would see that I don’t bring sleeping bags. I do, however, bring an ultralight tent. Why?

Well, we aren’t very likely to need to stay out a night; we are close enough to trailheads that we could shuttle kids back to the car - even carrying them - if need be. Or one of us could get back to the trailhead in minutes. And because we stop so often, even when everything is going just fine, we have lots of clothing layers to keep us warm when we aren’t moving. Insultation isn’t the problem. However, it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility that it could be snowing out. And in that case, having a tent top to sit under (or stand under - it’s a pyramid tent) can keep all of those insulated layers dry and still insulating.

Am I bringing a tent along on each summer day-hike? No, the threat of hypothermia and frostbite isn’t there to complicate things.

Outdoors recreation - particularly as you recreate in more and more isolated environments - is a never-ending process of assessing risk and then either avoiding that risk (you don’t have to keep going) or mitigating that risk through careful stepping, having the right knowledge, and - yes sometimes - having the right gear. So, really, our risk assessments need to start as we are planning the trip, and then we have continue those assessments not only when we are on the move in the wild, but also to when we are packing our bags.