On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 13:55:31 +1100, Bikesoiler quoth:

Beaker
I would not swap skis for snowshoes unless in really tight trees.
Aren't snowshoes slow? I'd rather stride & glide (then carve tele turns
downhill ) than plod on shoes.

Snowshoeing is basically hiking in the snow, so the point is the same - to
get outdoors in the wonderful cool winter weather, go places and see things.
(and get some super exersize) There's a bit of a glide to it if the powder
is deep enough - kind of like floating. You can go a lot more places more
easily on the shoes than you can on skis, and the snow conditions and terrain
don't effect snowshoes nearly as much. Since you're presumably out to see and
enjoy nature there's no reason to go any particular speed, but being able to
go any direction is important. I was really surprised how easy the shoes were
even in deep powder and thick undergrowth. (watch out for those spruce traps!)
I guess my point is that shoes are a lot more versatile and less fussy, and
they're certainly easier for a beginner. I prefer the plastic MSR snowshoes,
myself.

If zooming downhill is particularly important to you then I guess you want
skis. We used to xc ski in Minnesota where it's relatively flat, and you can
go for miles through the burbs from lake to lake. I had a couple pairs of
waxless Karhu xc skis back when the bindings had the 3-pin toe. I left them
behind when I found out the bindings had changed so I couldn't get new shoes.
I see Karhu has some "sweeper" skis now that are about halfway between xc skis
and snowshoes, which might be interesting in combination with snowshoes for
backcountry wandering. One nice thing about both xc skiing and snowshoeing
is that they're both cheap, and you can do them right out of your own backyard.
Downhill skiing became way too expensive, crowded and constrained for me -
had my fill of that already.

bkr