Outdoor Education

Lessons in overnight snowshoeing

You don't need to be a backcountry skier to camp in the snow overnight; snowshoes are a great way to access the winter mountains. But it does help if you know what you're doing.

Words + Photography Mika Kontiainen

Wind-driven sleet swirled out of the night, passing through the light of my headtorch as I stared at the transformed creek. Previously you could step across it. Now it was a two-metre-wide torrent tugging at snow-covered bushes along the banks.

Cold and damp penetrated my boots and clothing. It was dark and I was exhausted from a day of snowshoeing in bad weather across rough terrain, at risk of hypothermia and in desperate need of shelter. I took off my pack and snowshoes and threw them across the stream along with my trekking poles. The heavy pack fell short and splashed into the shallows on the far bank. While it was not about to be swept away, the longer it remained in the water the greater the risk that, despite waterproofing, my gear would get wet. I leapt across, lost my footing, and landed sprawling in the snow and slush with my legs in deep water. On hands and knees, I dragged myself out of the creek. Soaked from the waist down and shivering with cold, I picked up my pack, snowshoes and poles and continued into the night. Moments later, I broke through the snow into a hidden wombat hole and again fell sprawling in the wet snow. Grimly, I pressed on towards Kidmans Hut, which I knew from previous trips was only minutes away. Later, sitting in spare dry clothes in the warm glow of the fireplace, I reflected on what the day, and previous misadventures, had taught me.

So, with over forty years of outdoor experience leading dozens of overnight-snowshoe trips for the ANU Mountaineering Club, and over fifty nights backcountry camping in snow, what lessons can I share with novice snowshoers preparing for their first overnight trip? For starters, do not put yourself (or others) into potentially dangerous situations unless you are well prepared, well equipped, and know what you are doing. Start by going out in a group with an experienced trip leader. Outdoor clubs are a great starting point.