Food: A bit of chocolate & a few hard candies. I'm not looking to chow down I'm simply trying to have a little something to keep my metabolism up if I end up out for longer than expected.
Extra Clothes: Just enough to ensure that I will not freeze if forced to spend the night out. Many people carry a sleeping bag and/or a tent for this purpose. There are pros and cons of both techniques. By carrying a down jacket, a pair of fleece pants and some extra socks in a waterproof bag I know that even if everything else gets wet I still have some dry clothes to keep me warm for the night. The advantage of this system is that they can be used at any time, not only for an emergency bivouac. If it just turns out to be colder than planned I have that extra clothing. The down side to this technique and the best reason for opting to go the sleeping bag route is that in the case of an injury or if I were mildly hypothermic it would be extremely difficult to strip off my wet clothes and get into dry ones. Where as it would be comparatively simple to pull out the sleeping bag and climb inside of it.
Shelter: If you're out in winter you really should have some means of shelter if you're forced to spend the night. Some people carry a tent, yes even on day hikes. Personally I carry a bivy sack. The idea is to be prepared for whatever may happen.
Fire Starter: Sadly, starting a fire is becoming a lost art and it certainly can not be counted on as a possibility in all circumstances but in some situations it could literally be a life saver! I carry some water/wind proof matches, a small "Bic" lighter, a small piece of candle and a piece of "fire starter" that can be purchased at most good outdoor stores. It's also important to get some practice in using these items.
Repair Kit: It needn't be terribly extensive but it's a good idea to be able to make basic gear repairs while in the field.
Duct Tape: I have a couple of yards wrapped around the top of my trekking poles.
Cable Ties: These are the handiest little items imaginable for repairing everything from a broken snowshoe to building a basic splint
Cord: I carry about 20 feet of nylon cord, again handy for many purposes.
Safety Pins: 3 or 4 of assorted sizes
Emergency Blanket: I prefer something a bit more sturdy than the conventional emergency blanket. For about $20.00 you can purchase one that is designed like a sleeping bag with a Velcro "zipper" that even has a sort of lining. Much more rugged and much less likely to blow away than the more basic ones.
Chemical Heat Packs: These little things are amazing. They are simply a small packet of chemicals that produce heat when opened. They come in various sizes that can be inserted into your mittens to warm your fingers or your boots to warm your toes. If forced to spend the night out somewhere they may make the difference on whether or not fingers or toes get frost bitten.
Large Trash Bag: These can be used for a multitude of purposes including; Pack Cover, Rain Coat, Bivy Sack, Water Collection Aid
Cell Phone: Yep, that's right, I put it as the last item of emergency gear because that's where I believe it should be. Hiking, especially in winter should be a sport of self reliance. You should be prepared to take care of yourself no matter what happens! I generally do not carry a phone but if you do decide to carry one, please be advised that your chances of getting a signal in the mountains is 50/50 at best. So again, be prepared and I the way I figure it, if I need to be prepared to take care of myself if the phone doesn't work, why even carry it?
Head Lamp: Any type of flashlight will do the trick but a headlamp is so much simpler to use and it allows you to keep your hands free that it's my choice. I also carry a spare bulb and spare batteries. In winter you'll find that lithium batteries will last much longer in the cold and it's a good idea to keep any batteries in your pocket to keep them warm. For that reason there are headlamps designed specifically for winter that have the batteries in a unit that attaches somewhere under your jacket and has a wire that leads to the light itself. That way the batteries are kept warmer at all times.
Foam Pad: Even if you are not going to be out overnight you're still apt to enjoy having a foam pad along. What I've done is taken an older foam pad and cut about a two foot section of it off. This is just fantastic at break time to give you a nice dry, insulated place to sit down. It can also be an extremely handy piece of emergency gear, used to keep you off the snow if you're forced to spend the night out in the elements!
Food: This is one thing that many people love about winter hiking, no worries about food spoiling in the high temps! But, don't forget that many foods will freeze so hard you'll never be able to eat them out on the trail! For that reason and the fact that it's not quite so easy to stop and take a leisurely lunch break, I tend to bring very simple foods on winter hikes. I stick with your basic gorp. I fill one bag with a salty mix, things like pretzels, crackers, precut bites of cheese etc. Then I fill another bag with sweets. Another method is to carry the gorp in a wide mouth nalgene bottle that is attached to the outside of your pack thus enabling you to grab a snack without even having to take the pack off!
Ice Ax: Whoa, did I just say ICE AX? Yes I did but it's very important that you understand that there are only a handful of general hiking trails in all of New England that really require the use of an ax. Even more importantly, if you do not know the proper techniques for using one then it actually becomes more of a hazard than a help and you should just leave it's use to the more experienced! IF you do decide you are going to be climbing Mount Washington and you want to purchase an ax then make sure that it's a general mountaineering ax and not a technical ice climbing ax. Let me point out though that there are more than a few people that have climbed all of the 4000 foot peaks in New Hampshire in winter and have done so without ever using an ax!
Snow Shoes: Yet another very diverse gear category. There are so many types of snowshoes available today that once again you're going to have to make some type of decision as to which are best for you. If you don't own a pair and can't borrow a pair, let me suggest that you try renting before you lay out the money for new shoes. That will give you some idea of what works best for you. You'll also have to make some type of decision on what you will be wanting to use them for. If you want to go off into the wilds after a fresh new snow and not have to worry about a trail you'll want a large shoe with a lot of "floatation". Floatation is simply a term used to express how well the shoe will keep you "floating" on top of the snow. If you're going to be hiking mostly on well used trails then they will generally be packed down and you can use a smaller shoe.
Snowshoe Terminology:
Frame: The most fundamental part of the snowshoe, the frame holds everything else together.
Decking: This is what provides the flotation on the snow. On wooden shoes it's generally made of rawhide or a synthetic equivalent stretched between the sides of the frame. On newer shoes it's generally a sheet of some type of synthetic that is attached to the frame with rivets. On the newest plastic shoes, the frame and decking are all one and the same.
Crampons: Similar to the crampons that would be attached to your boots these crampons are attached to your snowshoes to aid you in climbing steep and/or icy terrain.
Bindings: This is what holds your boot to the snowshoe. On wooden shoes it's a simple leather strap system. On newer shoes it varies how they choose to hold your boot in. Make sure it's something that will hold your boot tightly and more importantly make sure it's something you can get in and out of with a minimum of hassle even with cold, mittened hands!
Basic Snowshoe Types
Wooden: Here's a picture of my classic wooden shoes. These are the classic old style of snowshoes that you see hanging as decoration on the camp wall. They are still made and still used and are actually the shoe of choice if you're going to be breaking trail on two feet of fresh powder. They provide lots of floatation, can be easily repaired in the field and last for years with proper maintenance.
Aluminum: Here's a picture of my "Atlas 10 series" aluminum shoes.These are what you'll see the most of these days. Once upon a time these were considered the latest and greatest but now there are even newer technologies showing up on the trail. The advantages of this type of snowshoe are that it is immeasurably more durable than the old wooden shoes, they are often much lighter and they generally have a crampon system that provides a level of traction that the old timers never even dreamt of!
Plastic: Here's a picture of my "MSR Denali Ascent" plastic shoes.This is the newest type of shoe out there. The entire shoe, frame, decking and all is molded from some type of plastic. The advantages are, weight, simplicity and added "gimicks" like a heel lifter. That once seemed foolish to me but after purchasing a pair of these shoes and using the little lever that essentially helps to level your foot even when you are climbing a steep hill, I was sold! It truly makes a difference on how beat up your calves get on a long up hill! The other great thing about this type of shoe is that on many of them you can vary the floatation by adding tail pieces. This way you've actually got two or three pairs of snowshoes in one!
Size/Floatation: The size, more commonly the length of the shoe you choose determines to a large degree how well you'll stay on top of the snow. Let me clarify here though that if you're unfamiliar with snowshoeing you're going to discover that no matter how large of a shoe you use it will not keep you entirely on top of the snow! The method used to determine the right shoe for you is based on your weight. Actually that will be the entire weight on the shoes, i.e. you, your clothing, your pack etc. Each manufacturer has a formula to determine that a person of "X" weight needs a shoe of "Y" length. Larger shoes will undoubtedly help keep you on top of the snow but keep in mind that many times the trail will be packed and the shoes will not be on your feet they will be attached to your pack. The larger they are the more they weigh and the more of a challenge they will be to carry. Also, the longer they are the more difficulty you'll have when trying to negotiate sharp turns, step over fallen trees and generally maneuver in the woods. So, my advice would be to by the smallest shoe you can get away with. Or to put it another way, if your total weight is 200 lbs and the manufacturer says that one shoe is rated for 150 pounds to 195 pounds and the next size up is for 200 to 250 pounds, go with the smaller ones! You'll see many, many people on the trail that are using shoes that are really too small for them by the manufacturers standards. More often than not I wear a pair of shoes that is rated for a maximum weight that is 20 to 30 pounds below what I weigh.
Traction: Unless you're only planning short walks in local fields you're most likely going to be doing some degree of climbing and you're also likely to encounter times when the snow is packed and hard as ice. That's where you'll want to have some type of crampon attached to the shoe. On the old wooden shoes the best you can do is a very basic steel attachment that does help, but not very well when compared with the newer shoes. This is a very important point to consider if you plan on using the shoes to climb New Hampshire’s 4000 footers or do any other significant climbing. You'll most likely observe that this is one of the most fundamental changes in the less expensive or "recreational" shoes and the more costly "back country" or "mountaineering" shoes. Again, if you plan on climbing, spend the extra and get a pair with a good hefty crampon. This is an area that the plastic type of shoes excel at. Due to the way they are molded there is much more attention paid to giving you lots of braking power!
Crampons: If you're going to be doing any climbing and especially if you're going to be tackling some four thousand footers or going above treeline, you'll most likely want some type of crampon. Let me say though, unless you're going to be doing technical ice climbing or you plan on doing some glacier travel, you do not necessarily need big 12 point step in crampons! You will want something that attaches firmly to whatever boots you will be using in the winter so my suggestion would be to take those boots to a good outdoor retailer and ask what they sell for crampons that would work with them. There are numerous types of crampons but the basic division would be between flexible and rigid. Unless you are planning on ice climbing with them I would recommend you stay away from the rigid ones. If you're going to be using them with a softer boot that has some flex in the sole you will need to get the flexibles anyway. The next major difference is in how they attach to your boots. If you're using a plastic boot or a very stiff leather boot with the right sole attachment then you will be able to get a type of crampon called, "step in". All that means is that they will attach to your boot in a manner not too unlike the way you'd attach your boot to a ski rather than with a system of straps. The big advantage there is that you will be able to put them on and take them off much more quickly if you get the step in kind. When it's 10 below, that'll seem much more important than it may right now!
Crampon Terminology
Rigid: Rigid crampons are exactly that, rigid. There is no flex to them and they are designed primarily for ice climbing and must be used on a boot that has a completely rigid sole. For general hiking, stay away from this type.
Flexible: Flexible crampons will have some arrangement that allows them to flex or bend to some degree making them much more comfortable to use on a non rigid boot. This is the type that most hikers choose.
Instep: Here's a picture of my Grivel Gripper 6 point Instep Crampons.These are essentially mini crampons that have a small number of short spikes that point downward from your instep. If you're not doing anything too steep and you're willing to turn around if things get too icy then these may work excellently for you.
Step In: This type of crampon uses varying systems to allow you to attach then to your boots much more rapidly. Essentially by simply stepping into them. This is very handy when it's cold and you're on a "mixed route" that forces you to put the crampons on and then take them off again many times a day. They do require a rigid boot with a welt that allows attachment. Hybrid: Here's a picture of my Kong 12 point Hybrid Crampons. This is an arrangement designed to allow you to have a nearly step-in binding without having to have a welt or groove on the front of your boot.
Strap On: This was the only type of crampon there was for many, many years but now is quickly becoming obsolete as newer, faster methods of attachment are being implemented.
Points: The number of points or spikes on each crampon varies from 4 for a simple instep crampon to 6 for more elaborate insteps and on up to 10 or 12 points. Many prefer 12 point crampons but unless you're doing some pretty technical climbing most people doing general hiking in New England will be perfectly happy with a pair of 10 point crampons. The big difference is that they have two less points aiming forward. Why's that a big deal you ask. Well it's those front points that seem to find a way to trip you, to slice up your pant legs or gaiters and to generally make you change your stride more as you walk!
Antibotts: These are plastic plates that attach to your crampons to help keep snow from balling up under your foot which can become a real problem in the right conditions.
Crampons: If you're going to be doing any climbing and especially if you're going to be tackling some four thousand footers or going above treeline, you'll most likely want some type of crampon. Let me say though, unless you're going to be doing technical ice climbing or you plan on doing some glacier travel, you do not necessarily need big 12 point step in crampons! You will want something that attaches firmly to whatever boots you will be using in the winter so my suggestion would be to take those boots to a good outdoor retailer and ask what they sell for crampons that would work with them. There are numerous types of crampons but the basic division would be between flexible and rigid. Unless you are planning on ice climbing with them I would recommend you stay away from the rigid ones. If you're going to be using them with a softer boot that has some flex in the sole you will need to get the flexibles anyway. The next major difference is in how they attach to your boots. If you're using a plastic boot or a very stiff leather boot with the right sole attachment then you will be able to get a type of crampon called, "step in". All that means is that they will attach to your boot in a manner not too unlike the way you'd attach your boot to a ski rather than with a system of straps. The big advantage there is that you will be able to put them on and take them off much more quickly if you get the step in kind. When it's 10 below, that'll seem much more important than it may right now!
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