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We rarely have snow where I live, and when we do, I want to enjoy it the most. However, walking in snow is hard, and to get to fun places I need snowshoes.

It seems a very simple device - just a board tied to my boots - but there probably are some principles to ensure the device is going to be usable. For example, how to ensure it will not twist to the side?

So, how can I improvise snowshoes? I have preparation time of 1 week, but cannot test it (the snow is not here yet). The device is going to be one-time use (put on in the morning, use during the day, improvise something else next year).

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  • @Jon No, the questions is different although one of the answers there can be an answer here
    – vladiz
    Feb 6, 2015 at 21:48
  • The question seems a little silly, as if whether simply using a board is good enough. That is the hack. Use a board. Nothing left to expand on.
    – subjectivist
    Feb 7, 2015 at 4:37
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    @dmcdivitt he is asking How to improvise snowshoes? so there may be other snowshoes, not only ones made of boards
    – vladiz
    Feb 7, 2015 at 8:08

1 Answer 1

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If you tie pine branches (like from a Christmas tree) to the front of your boots with string through your boot eyelets, you don't have to worry about the twisting to the side if you are walking forwards and you get a nice large surface area to tread with.

http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/survivalist/2014/01/step-step-make-emergency-snowshoes

Edit for detail:

Step One

Start by cutting two pine boughs with ample foliage to about 3 feet (1 m) long.

Step Two

Tie a string near the base of the branch, where you cut it. Then flip the branch over and tie an overhand knot on the opposite side.

Step Three

Place the branch so that its top (the side that faces upward when the branch is on the tree) is face down in the snow, with the foliage bending upward. Step on it, tie the string to your shoe, and thread the line through the shoelace eyelets.

Step Four

Once you're strapped in, walk normally across the snow. Your boot will naturally come up from the branch about 30 degrees when you walk, which will keep you from sinking into the snow.

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  • Due to the uncertain nature of the Internet and pages thereon, it is a good idea to copy the relevant portions of the link page here.
    – Adam Zuckerman
    Feb 9, 2015 at 21:24
  • I thought I had without breaching copyright. Is it OK to copy word for word?
    – Mark Daniel Osborne
    Feb 10, 2015 at 0:57

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