I had come into an extravagant sum in MEC gift cards ($200), and had decided that I wanted to buy a pricier item that I probably otherwise wouldn't buy. I settled on snowshoes. After getting some advice on the orienteering site AttackPoint, I decided I wanted more of a racing snowshoe, not a trekking or climbing shoe, since I'm not much of a hiker. The one cool thing that the climbing shoes have is a heel lift you can flip up, so that you don't strain the backs of your legs when climbing. Oh well. My shoes are super-light and very springy instead. They are the Atlas Run, and they felt utterly weightless on my feet in the store.The next day, my parents went up to my roomie's parents' property north in the woods, and we came with them. When we went for a winter walk, my roomie and I strapped on our snowshoes: me with my racing aluminums and he in his parents' ancient wicker tennis rackets. The race was on!
The snow was deep (1-2') and very fluffy. EW stayed basically right on top of the snow, although he kept stepping on his own shoes. He had trouble climbing without any crampons.
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| Kickin' it old school |
When I got my Atlas back, I ran up to the top of a fairly high hill (30-40m), and I wasn't tired. It was magical. I couldn't believe I wasn't trudging. It was like suddenly realizing you could walk on water. Later, I ran up another big hillside, this time in a dense crusty-dry pine forest. These shoes are so small and narrow, I nimbly darted between the stalks of the trees. I felt like I could go anywhere on these shoes.
I must have had the biggest grin on my face when I came back to the house. Of course, my butt was covered in snow because I had given my slick snowpants to my mom while staying in my fleecy sweatpants. The running shoes do kick up a lot; but I knew that going in - it's a matter of wearing the right pants.
If I'm ever able to really run again, I'm gonna love these.
--Duration: 25mins
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