While gearing up for a climbing trip to Alaska, I endlessly debated about the ideal footwear to facilitate travel between routes and on the trek back to civilization. Skis and ski boots? Skis with climbing boots? Climbing boots and prayers for firm snow? Meanwhile, my partner Jason had already decided on a better option: snowshoes.

The lowly snowshoe, or ‘slow-shoe’ if you’re a skier, has fallen from popularity in recent decades. Lacking the urban ‘skater-chic’ of snowboards, and the speedy elegance of a Telemark setup, snowshoes aren’t likely to score you many flirting glances from the tricked-out dudes and dudettes you encounter in the backcountry. But what they will do, is allow you to get out when terrain and time are ill-suited to boot-packing or skinning.

Snowshoes fall into three broad categories.

• Recreational snowshoes are designed for use on flat trails, snowy golf courses, and other locations of little interest to the SpadMag reader.
• Fitness (or racing) snowshoes are for running in packed or groomed snow. These are ideal for aerobic training, but unless you're competing in races, there’s probably a better model out there.
• Mountaineering/Backcountry models are the ideal choice for breaking trail and managing steep terrain on wilderness travel.

A mountaineering snowshoe features a lightweight frame, typically constructed of aircraft-grade aluminum. A broad, weight-bearing surface called the decking spreads your weight across the snow. Decking is constructed of durable, waterproof material such as hypalon found in whitewater rafts. With a pivot-point centered below the ball of the foot, and crampon points below the toe, mountaineering snowshoes will adjust to handle everything from ski boots to tennis shoes. Yet there are key differences to consider when choosing your shoe.

An ideal snowshoe is the smallest and lightest model that still provides adequate ‘float’ given typical weight and snow conditions. With a smaller shoe, you’ll use less energy walking and minimize weight and bulk on your back while climbing. Float can be thought of as the opposite of post-holing, the ability to walk across deep snow, rather than strenuously wading through it. Making high steps and maximizing your shoe's contact with the snow will increase float, especially on steep sidehills. A climber who prefers gear-intensive, overnight trips in Wasatch powder will need  larger snowshoes than would a winter day-hiker of the same weight, who freequents the 'Cascade concrete' of the Mt. Hood National forest. Factor in not only your favorite terrain, but also your pack weight and typical snow conditions to any buying decision. And if you just can't settle on the best size for your winter travel, snowshoes now come with extendable tails, allowing you to fine-tune your float for any given day. Upon adding snowshoes to your gear quiver, you’ve got to know when to pull them out and put them to work.

Terrain featuring frequent ups and downs, especially with brush or stream crossings, can be a nightmare to ski. In deep powder, snowshoes will excel. Record the speed and number of your skin-to-ski switchovers on your next telemark trip or split-boarding mission. You’ll be surprised by how much time you spend standing still. Although snowshoeing is often slower while traveling, the tortoise may still beat the hare by virtue of continuous, steady progress. And when trying to squeeze a day of climbing into the few sunlight hours of winter, it helps to know the fastest way from your car to your destination. Additionally, if you will be climbing a peak with a carry-over descent, and won't return to the climb’s base, snowshoes are much easier to bring up and down a technical route than skis or a snowboard.

After two days spent jumping crevasses down the icy Mendenhall glacier in Alaska, it turns out that both Jason and myself had chosen wrong, and we would have been better off with just boots. But as I struggled down icefalls and through slide-alder thickets with 192-cm skis swinging from my pack, Jason's light little snowshoes were looking pretty darn stylin’.

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