Outdoor Winter activities are much more demanding than in the summer. Especially when we are talking about hiking. You will need to carry extra weight, many more stops for body tempurature regulation and lifting your feet higher to get through the snow, often while wearing much heavier boots or even crampons or snow shoes. Today we will look at how to condition yourself for those tiring winter hikes.
Winter day hiking and snowshoeing require a higher degree of physical fitness than hiking during the rest of the year because you need to carry more clothes, gear, emergency supplies, food and all of the water you need in sub-freezing weather. How much more depends on the type of terrain, weather, and distance you plan to cover, but you should probably prepare for a 100 – 200% increase over your 3 season pack weight. That can be quite a shock if you’re used to carrying under 20 pounds for 3 season hiking.
Besides carrying a heavier pack, you will also be wearing much heavier footwear, gaiters, and traction. That’s the real killer for me. I’m not used to wearing heavy boots and traction and it’s hard to train for it when there’s so little snow near my house.
For example:
Snowshoes weigh between 4 pounds per pair
Crampons weigh between 1 to 3 pounds per pair
Microspikes weigh 12 ounces
Technical, knee-high gaiters weigh about 10 ounces
Sorel pack boots weigh 3 – 4 pounds a pair
Mountaineering boots weight 3 – 5 pounds per pair
One rule of thumb is that one pound on your feet feels like the 5 more pounds in your pack, so wearing 8 pounds of footware (boots + snowshoes, for example), is the equivalent of carrying an additional 40 pounds of gear in your pack. Add in a couple thousand feet of elevation change, and it’s no wonder that winter hiking is a lot more strenuous.
Getting in Shape Outdoors
The best way to get into shape for winter hiking and snowshoeing is to do it. Start slow if you’re not used to carrying the extra weight in your pack or on your feet and build up your endurance over time. For me the end-goal is to be able to hike 8 hours days with about 3,000 feet of elevation gain, but your mileage may vary if you’re not a winter peakbagger.
It can be challenging to get in shape however if there isn’t sufficient snow, elevation change, daylight, or you don’t have enough free time to get out and hike in full winter gear several days per week. I think that describe most of us, unfortunately!
Instead, I make a point to get out at least once a week for a major day hike, which in my case is usually an all-day peakbagging trip with about 8 miles of hiking and 2,000 feet of elevation change. I start with smaller mountains and shorter hikes earlier in the season and try to peak (a pun) by early to mid February so that I’m in shape to go after more strenuous peaks with 3,000 – 4,000 feet of elevation gain or multi-day backpacking trips.
If we get snow in Boston, which is two hours south of the mountains, I make a point to go snowshoeing or hiking two additional days per week with a full pack in the woods near my house. I can do a 7 mile loop hike there with about 1,000 feet of elevation gain in a few hours, but I am lucky to have a schedule that permits me to take afternoons off.
Getting in Shape in the Gyms
If you can’t work weekday training hikes and snowshoes into your schedule, gym workouts can be just as effective as long as you are consistent with them and ratchet up their intensity. I try to do over 60 minutes of fairly strenuous cardio a few days a week and switch off between a number of different machines including a stationary bike, rowing machine, and an elliptical within the same workout. I used to do a lot more weight training than I do today, but these exercises, particularly the rowing machine, provide me with plenty of resistance to add leg strength and endurance at the same time. In addition, I swim laps a few days a week to work out my upper body.
I also do functional exercises that work my core muscles because they help me stabilize a heavier winter pack. I do a lot of planks and plank variants with a bosu ball, knee raises, weighted russian twists on an incline board, hyper-extensions to work my hamstrings and lower back, and some kettle bell work to develop explosive power in my hips.This combination works pretty well for me, but I am constantly changing it up to prevent my body from getting used to one workout.
Article published by The Simple Hiker on December 30, 2015
N.A.C. NEWS
(Sunday, December 19, 2021)
Good Morning
As I am sure you have all heard by now, the Province of Ontario has reinstated some modified COVID protocols. At the current time, none of these protocols affect Niagara Adventure Club. They do however, affect my job at Niagara Casinos. It is very likely that my current shift will be changed, and it is very possible that I may have my days off change. The casino is being restricted to 50% capacity, no food or drink will be served, and alcohol will stopped being served at 10pm until further notice. This means we will be very quiet during the week, and so I may have to work weekends. Until I have a new schedule, I will refrane from planning any events for 2022. I will keep everyone up to date on this as I learn more. As COVID numbers are rising out of control with this new variant, (over 8000 new cases in the past 4 days), I will be enforcing the masking rules. No one will participate in any NAC event without a mask. During our time in the outdoors, you may take your mask off, but you must stay at least 10 feet from the person in front or behind you on the trail. If you plan to get closer, then both persons must wear their masks. In the cars, all persons must properly wear a mask. The mask must cover your nose and mouth completely. Mask with valves are not permitted.
That's all the news for this week. As always, stay safe, and happy hiking! Lenny Burch Niagara Adventure Club