Winter snowshoe distance expectations

In snow 2 ft. or deeper with a winter pack of say 30 -35 lbs. I’d expect no more than 6 miles in “rolling terrain”.

XC skis & skins (with a pack) will get you maybe 10 to 12 miles depending on your skill level and conditioning. With XC racing skis and carbon fiber poles I once did the 100 mile Canadian Ski Marathon in two days with an 8 lb. fanny pack and 10 hours of skiing. (1981)

As good as they are, I really can’t stand using my MSR Lightning Ascent snowshoes for winter camping. They are merely “OK” for hunting in thick woods to steep terrain.

Hey Eric, just curious, what it is that you don’t like about the MSR lightning ascents for winter backpacking?

@Mojo

Well it all depends. Even on the flat, when walking through deep powder, very slow. When walking on top of firm icey crusty snow, much faster.

I also would like to hear Eric’s opinion of the Lightning Ascents…

Cheers.

For me it really varies due to snow depth and consistency, terrain, and weather.   When I camped more in winter I typically hiked/skied in a day, stayed 2-3 nights, and then hiked/skied out in a day.  6-15 miles each way and day trips for the other 2 or 3 days.

I guess my spring trips are winter like in that snowshoes are often used, but it is more intermittent- usually after post holing for stretch – but miles are higher due to more daylight and often favorable crusted snow.

In my experience the distance you can cover is more dependent on snow type and depth than terrain: uphill on a well-broken trail is easier than breaking trail through knee-deep heavy snow on the flat. And fatigue might be a greater limiting factor than time.

As for the MSP Lightning Ascents, I’, very happy with mine, especially the fancy new bindings. At 6’4″, 220# plus gear, flotation is sometimes an issue (I wear the  30″ size and always the tails) but I haven’t seen anything floatier around. The ascend and descend well and are pretty durable (I’m on my third pair in ten years). A little pricy at $300+ but as good a value as any, I’d say… Just my $.02 worth…

I factor a mile an hour on snow shoes with a winter pack on a decent trail. Add in lots of ups and down and it can decrease.