Snow Shoeing: City Girls Take On the Mountain

On a recent trip to Colorado to visit my dearest friend from college, Emily, we decided to get a little wild. We could spend our day tooling around the cute shops in Vail, lounging around fire pits and sipping hot toddies. Instead, we decided to go out of our comfort zone and go snow shoeing.

Note: No one was harmed in the making of this blog post. 

Neither of us had ever gone snow shoeing but we were excited to try something new. I was particularly glad it did not involve flying down a mountain at uncontrollable speeds (see: me skiing). Unprepared for this adventure, we put together some hodgepodge mountain get-ups and borrowed some snow shoes and poles. Unfortunately, Uggs do not fit in snow shoes so we went to the rental center to find a pair of boots.

After procuring the proper foot equipment and purchasing a lift ticket, we were ready to hit the slopes! On our way out the door, the man behind the counter asked if we knew how to actually put the show shoes on. Did we look that obvious? He gave us a quick demonstration- we hadn't exactly thought about that part yet!

Up the lift we went to McCoy Park at Beaver Creek- reserved for snow shoeing and cross country skiing.

At 10,000 feet elevation, we strapped on our shoes, careful not to chip our freshly manicured nails, and took off through the tree-lined path. We felt a little awkward at first but quickly got into a rhythm.

The trails were marked as they are for the ski slopes: green for easy, blue for intermediate, and black for don't even think about it. We mapped out our course and took off with confidence- all green trails of course!

It was fun to go a little off the beaten track and walk though the fresh snow- it really got your legs working! Going down hill, we thought snow shoeing was a piece of cake! We decided to park it on the slope of the mountain and enjoy the lunch we packed. We could not have had a better view!

We continued trekking down the mountain until we reached a gulch and had to start going back up. This was definitely a game changer! Our pace slowed as we climbed the narrow trail up the mountain. It didn't help that I kept slipping and stepping on the backs of my shoes. It's very hard to walk when you're doubled over laughing!

We looked back and saw the path we had made in the fresh powder- the sense of accomplishment was growing.

Just as we cleared the trees on the top of the mountain, we realized that we still had a lot of uphill trail to go. Em whipped out her iphone and put some tunes on speakerphone. There's nothing like The Devil Wears Prada soundtrack to keep your motivation up!

Normally, an incline like this wouldn't look so daunting. Add in snow and high altitude and it is quite challenging. We would power through about 10 yards only to stop and rest again- what a work out!

We finally made it back to the chair lift after two hours of hiking feeling exhausted but accomplished. Without a doubt, all the hard work was worth it!

After our workout, we needed to relax so we headed to the Ritz-Carlton at Beaver Creek and snagged the last two chairs around the fire pit that had a great mountain view. With a cold one in our hand, we enjoyed some live music and great people watching. This is the life! Can I do this every weekend?

Snow shoeing is a great alternative to skiing or snowboarding- give it a thought next time you're in the mountains. It's a great all-body work out and an experience you wont forget!