Quote:
Originally Posted by GGG
I second the micro spikes advice.
And buy the Katahoola ones and not yak trax or any brand made for running.
These are the ones you want
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5017-3...raction-Device
For trails once you have spikes
Prairie Mountain, Chester Lake, Rawson Lake,, Grotto Canyon, Johnston Canyon are all a good start. Be aware of avalanche terrain, know what it is and how to stay out of it. For example going on the Fairview side of lake Louise is fairly dangerous and people have died.
The only caveat where snow shoes are needed is if you want to go off trail and play in the snow. Then snow shoes allow you to sink 1-2 feet into powder instead of 3-4 and it’s a ton of work. You can rent at MEC before you buy. I recommend the high end MSRs (if you plan on snowshoe peak bagging) or the cheap Mckinleys at atomosphere that come with poles for less than $100. I don’t believe there is value in any of the intermediate options.
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/6000-8...cent-Snowshoes
https://www.sportchek.ca/categories/...D=332938440_60
Those McKinley’s don’t come with poles but they should have a deal in the next few weeks at sportcheck or atmosphere |
While I agree with most of this, and katoohlahs are awesome, we've several pair of ~$20 microspikes off of amazon that have well over 100km on them and are still going strong.
Unfortunately the yks 19 tooth model we bought is no longer listed but i suspect there are a dozen other types that would work just as well.