There are four main non-motorized means of snow travel:
These are sort of a bad idea in powder, might not be so bad on hard, firm snow -- like sastrugi, for instance. In anything other than a very firm crust or very well-packed snow (so any new snowfall is out), you'll post-hole up to your knees, hips, and beyond. A thoroughly miserable way to spend a day. Plus, you sweat up a storm, which freezes on you and/or makes you hypothermic. My own preference is to augment my feet with one of the other three choices.
A good bet on flat terrain, more challenging when there's altitude to be attained, a lot of fun when there's altitude to be lost. It takes a while to get used to skiing with a pack (another vote for pulks), but with backcountry/telemark skis, wider and shorter than your average groomed-trail cross-country planks, the learning curve is a bit more kind.
If you're planning to go up anything more challenging than a very gentle incline, you'll need climbing skins, which attach to the bottoms of your skis and provide little resistance when you're moving forward but grab the snow if you slide back; think of an animal's fur that lies flat when you stroke it one way, and stands up when you go against the grain.
Skis come in waxable or waxless varieties, I prefer waxless because I'm a bit lazy and tend to start the day in a state of confusion without having to whip out the thermometer and 12 cans of wax. On the other hand, the argument has been made that by having to examine the snow closely (to decide which one of the 48 kinds of wax you'll need) you are forced to interact with your environment, to recognize that there are many different kinds of snow, to understand your surroundings rather than just observing them. Sounds like a valid argument. It almost makes me want to buy waxable skis. First I need to work on getting some graphics.
Strap 'em on and go. There are plenty of opinions about construction and decking but the two main camps are: old-fashioned (wood frames, some kind of woven decking, sometimes even lampwick bindings) and new-fangled (metal framed, solid rubber-type decking, crampon bindings). The new-fangled camp has been turned into the old-fashioned-new-fangled camp by the latest additions to the showshoe universe: small, solid snowshoes made of plastic or metal.
I grew up with a big pair of Maine/Michigan-style traditionals my Dad made, then bought myself a pair of traditional Green Mountain Bearpaws when I moved to more mountainous country, and now own a pair of Atlas 1033's with inch-long crampons on the bindings.
My opinion? Traditionals probably do offer more floatation, especially in dry, very cold, powdery conditions, and if I was slugging along on the flats I'd probably make a pair just like the pair that was made by my dear ol' Dad. However, I find mountains interesting, much more so when I have some control over my mobility, and for my money -- in those conditions -- nothing beats the modern snowshoe (we're not talking about technical mountaineering here. That's for someone else's page).
As for the super-new-fangled snowshoes, I've never tried them. I fear change so it's not surprising I'd be a bit behind the curve on this one. I've gotten e-mail from super-new-fangled winter campers who absolutely swear by them, and I have to say that if I needed a new pair, I'd probably buy some. I don't think it will be for a while, though. You just can't kill Atlas 1033's.
Okay, I wouldn't use Otis for transportation. He does all right for an old Boxer with rebuilt knees and bad hips. He loves the snow. But he deserves to take it easy at his age. However, there are spry young dogs that provide all kinds of power when they're hooked up to a...
DOGSLED
I have spent exactly six days of my life staring at the hind end of a sled team, and I can say without a doubt that it was the best outdoor experience of my life. Someday I hope to push my dogsledding days into the double digits.
I know some people think dogsledding is cruel, and yes, there are mushers who treat their dogs poorly. Allow me to state for the record that anyone who is mean to a dog would eat their own grandmother. For a musher to treat poorly the very animals who work hard for him/her... There are no words to express my disgust. Well, okay, there are -- "hatred" pops to mind -- but this is a family-friendly site.
To spend time working with sled dogs that have been well-cared for and treated with respect is sublime. They are working dogs, like Border Collies, and to deny them their work is unkind in the extreme. Few things make a sled dog cry louder than being left behind when his/her buddies are getting into a harness and being clipped into the gangline. Sled dogs LOVE to pull. And eat.
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