Winter Hiking Tip # 3

Micro-spikes, crampons and snowshoes, oh my!

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of pulling on your traction while leaning against a tree on the side of the trail on a frigid winter day, you know that by the time you complete this monumental task, you’ll be sweating profusely! if you haven’t had the pleasure, let me enlighten you;

First, you bend your leg and pull your knee up as close to your chest as your bulky layers of clothing will allow. Then, you center the rubber portion of the spike over the toe-box of your boot. You likely won’t line it up correctly the first time, so you’ll need to take it off and try again.

Next, using strength that you never knew you had, you’ll stretch the rubber all the way over the heel of your boot. Once you finish performing that little miracle, you will try to pull your thumb out from between your boot and the tight rubber, and your glove will get caught, leaving you gloveless in subzero temperatures. But hey, no one forced you to hike in winter, right?

If this sounds like fun to you, read on for my traction recommendations…

The traction that Tom and I wear varies depending on the conditions we expect to encounter. There have been numerous hikes when we have carried multiple forms of traction.

The traction that we use:

• Kahtoola micro-spikes: 3/8” spikes

• Hillsound trail crampons; 2/3'“ spikes

• Kahtoola K-10 crampons: 3/4” spikes

• MSR Lightning Ascent Snowshoes

• Tubb Flex VRT Snowshoes