The backcountry is where you will find true snowboarding adventures. It opens
up a new world of terrain, adventure and untracked powder. The kit on these pages
will allow you to reach those hidden slopes and bowls. To get there you need snowshoes.
You also need some telescopic poles to help on the way up. You’ll also need a
backpack which can easily carry your board on the climbs up, and carry your snowshoes
and poles on the way down. Remember that you should have all the avalanche
safety gear before leaving the patrolled ski area. (And know how to use it)
MSR
Denail Ascent Snowshoes (Mountain Safety Research)
Sick of wading up to your
thigh in snow trying to get fresh tracks? Get some snowshoes and get to the front
of the crowd. Manufactured in North America, MSR are no stranger to deep snow
conditions. The Denali Ascent snowshoes are tough
plastic snowshoes with a binding system that will fit to any soft snowboarding
boot. They have a toe crampon for climbing steep icy slopes and side bars to prevent
side slipping on traverses. They also have a heel lift bar to prevent calf fatigue
on long climbs.
They pack down very flat due to the flexible binding system
and will easily attach to a decent backpack. Size 20cm X 56cm. Weight 1692g per
pair.
The standard denali snowshoes are perfect for European snow conditions.
Should you be lucky enough to be expecting waist deep Canadian powder on a regular
basis, the shoes can be extended with flotation tails to give better support in
really deep snow. The Flotation tails clip onto the back of the shoe and lock
on with a wingnut. The tails come in 2 sizes depending on your weight and load
carried
Up to 79Kg (175lbs) including pack - 10cm (4in) tails
Over 79kg
(175lbs) including pack - 20cm (8in) tails
