SNOWSHOEING KIT LIST
If you are on one of our snowshoeing holidays or winter multi activity holidays snowshoes and poles will be provided for you. We also provide avalanche transceivers and snow safety kits for our guided snowshoe walks where required. It is also possible to hire these in the area.
If you are staying overnight in a refuge as part of your snowshoeing trip, please read the extra kit required for this at the bottom of the page.
ESSENTIALS FOR SNOWSHOEING:
- 2 or 3 pairs of warm walking socks - proper walking socks have extra padding where you need it the most and are worth getting! Winter socks with wool are also good for keeping your toes toasty!
- Walking Boots – good walking boots are essential for snowshoeing. You will strap the snowshoes to your walking boots so your boots need to be fairly sturdy. Walking trainers are not sufficient. They will also be acting as the barrier to snow so need to be waterproof and warm.
- Waterproof jacket and trousers or sallopettes. As you will be walking, you will be creating your own body heat, so a waterproof, breathable shell is fine to keep any snow from getting in and melting. It is a good idea to have trousers with elasticated bottoms or snow cuffs to stop snow from getting inside your walking boots.
- Gaiters – if your waterproof trousers don’t have snow cuffs, and even if they do, sometimes a pair of gaiters are worth bringing as an extra defence against snow entering your walking boots!
- At least three layers - thin thermal layer or t-shirt made of wicking material rather than cotton next to the skin, a mid weight fleece and a thicker fleece. It is better to have lots of layers so you can strip off going up and pile on the layers when you have a rest as your body temperature will vary quite a lot as you are walking up and down hills.
- Fleecy trousers or thermals to wear under your outer trousers
- Gloves, hat, neck warmer or ear warmer. It's worth getting decent waterproof warm ski gloves or mitts as well as a pair of fleecy gloves. A couple of different hats, one very warm and one less warm for differing temperatures.
- Rucksack to carry spare sweater, waterproofs, packed lunch, water bottle, and other bits and pieces. Good idea to put a waterproof rucksack liner inside your rucksack. A 25 to 35 litre rucksack should be ample for a day's snowshoeing. It is important to make sure you are able to strap your snowshoes to the outside of your rucksack (check straps etc) for sections where you may remove your snowshoes.
- Good sized water flask or a plastic water bottle. A Platypus or similar water system is also very handy, but beware, they can freeze so an insulated tube is a good idea.
- Re-usable lunch box or bag for picnics as these are now often wrapped in paper to avoid plastic packaging so a container to avoid leaks in your bag is good.
- Sun screen and lip salve with sunscreen
- Sun glasses - you should make sure they wrap well round your eyes at the sides to protect you from snow glare from the ground
- Goggles – good quality goggles are invaluable on snowy days.
- Sun hat or cap for warm winter sunny days.
- Duvet jacket - not essential but serves as a good lightweight warm jacket for those frosty cold days.
- A small sit mat or bit of old camping mat - not essential but good for a bit of comfort when picnicking in the snow.
WITH OVERNIGHT IN REFUGE:
If you are snowshoeing into a refuge for the night, the most important thing is to try to be as lightweight as possible. A good rule of thumb is to calculate what layers you would wear in the coldest situation and take just this with an extra thermal to change into on arrival (and sleep in this), socks and underwear, a headtorch, toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste.
If you are staying several nights then add a small microfibre towel, and an additional thermal and underwear.
You may need a slightly larger rucksack than for a day hike but shouldn't need more than 35 litres! If you are overspilling your 35 litres you are probably taking too much.
OTHER USEFUL THINGS:
- Camera, spare film or memory card and batteries.
- Binoculars
- Flask
- Swim suit – please note that boxer short style swimming trunks are not allowed in French pools.
