
I had to cancel my climbing day as my wife needed some emergency dental treatment and I had to look after the boys. So after lunch I went off with the snowshoes to do some product testing and take photos. I’m not a good skier so I’ve always preferred snowshoes as I can get a great snowy adventure without the misery of winter climbing. I headed off over Ilkley Moor, which is a 30 minute drive from my house, into what felt like a Arctic wilderness. The beauty of snowshoes is that you can easily get off the beaten track and the combination of deep snow and springy heather provided a great, lungbusting, workout. To be honest, I’d been doing plenty of climbing this week so my arms were pretty blasted and a good aerobic workout was just what the doctor ordered. The weather was awesome, about -2oC and crystal clear and the last hour in beautiful crystalline darkness was magical.
Essentail Kit
Snowshoes – Inook VXM
Baselayer – Smartwool Midweight zip t (on test).
Jacket –Marmot Tempo
Moutain Equpiment Powerfleece tights.
Poles – Black Diamond Alpine CF
Headtorch – Petzl Tikka XP²