What is snowshoeing, and is it easy for beginners?

Snowshoeing, le ciaspole to Italians, is the winter sport for people who don't fancy going fast downhill. You walk through snowy woods and across white meadows, in silence apart from the crunch underfoot, and arrive at a hut for a bowl of something hot. No lift pass, no queue, no lessons in falling over gracefully.

How it works

Modern snowshoes are light frames with a binding for your boot and a decking that spreads your weight across the snow. Many have metal teeth underneath for grip on slopes, and many have a heel bar you can flip up to make climbing more comfortable. You walk with a slightly wider stance than usual, so the shoes don't knock together, and use poles for balance.

That is more or less the technique. The first ten minutes feel like walking in flippers; after that, you forget about it.

Is it easy for beginners?

On the right terrain, yes. Many winter resorts and valleys have marked snowshoe trails, signposted and maintained, often starting from a car park or a lift and ending somewhere with hot chocolate. These are ideal for a first outing:

• Hire the kit from a sports shop in the resort. Shoes and poles are inexpensive to rent.
• Wear winter hiking boots or warm, waterproof boots that fit the bindings.
• Dress in layers, because you will warm up quickly when moving and cool down fast when you stop.
• Pick a short loop on a marked trail and turn it into a half day with lunch.
• Ask the tourist office or hire shop which routes are open and suitable.

Snowshoeing in deep, fresh snow is much harder work than walking on a packed trail, so expect to go slower than you would on the same path in summer.

Avalanche awareness

Here is the serious bit. Snowshoes take you easily into places that look like gentle winter walks but are, in fact, avalanche terrain: open slopes, gullies, the bottoms of steep faces. This is a summary of official guidance in our own words, not a substitute for training or a guide.

• Read the avalanche bulletin. In the Italian Alps, regional bulletins are gathered by AINEVA, the association of the Alpine regions and provinces, and use the five-level European avalanche danger scale, from 1 (debole) to 5 (molto forte). AINEVA notes that most avalanche victims are people doing ski touring and off-piste activities, which is exactly the terrain snowshoers can wander into.
• Know the law where you are. In Italy, Article 26 of Legislative Decree 40/2021 requires people doing ski touring, off-piste skiing or excursions in particular snowy environments, including on snowshoes, to carry an avalanche transceiver, a shovel and a probe where snow and weather conditions create a risk of avalanches.
• Carrying the kit is not enough. It is only useful if you and your companions know how to use it, which means training.
• Go with a guide if you want to leave marked trails. Mountain guides and qualified leaders run snowshoe outings that choose terrain to match the day's conditions.
• Stick to marked, open snowshoe trails if you are not trained. In Switzerland, the federal risk activities ordinance treats snowshoe tours on marked and open snowshoe trails differently from more demanding routes, which tells you something about where the line lies.

If something goes wrong

In Italy, the alpine rescue service CNSAS advises calling 118, or 112 where it is in use, and asking for mountain rescue, then explaining what happened, where you are and what the weather is doing. Set off with a fully charged phone and keep it in an inside pocket.