When I opened my Christmas present from my daughter, I had to gulp: “A voucher for a snowshoe tour together”. With my level of fitness! It could hardly have been more embarrassing for me. Yet despite my initial stress, the outing turned out to be an unexpectedly enjoyable experience!

Oh no, how embarrassing!!! Wordlessly I look at the gift voucher that my student daughter has bought for me with her hard-earned money. I sit as if rooted to the sofa. ME and SNOWSHOE WALKING?!?! And now in particular, when I haven’t done any exercise for months! Not to mention the excesses of the festive period when – if I’m quite honest – I still haven’t managed to shift the extra kilos I put on last Christmas.

I find the idea of puffing along behind my ultra-fit daughter, wearing those bizarre snowshoes, utterly mortifying. But of course I don’t let it show and I thank her warmly for the wonderful surprise. Secretly I’m just happy that the to(rt) ur(e) isn’t for another three weeks. So I have time to gen up a bit on the Internet...

Snowshoe walking is really “in”

I didn’t realise that snowshoe walking is so popular nowadays. There are numerous mountain regions with well-marked snowshoe trails: from fairly flat to more challenging, the range of routes for every fitness level is quite extensive. If you can walk normally, you can walk with snowshoes – you don’t need any lessons so there are no excuses! The question of what to wear is also really simple: it’s best to wear warm, waterproof clothing on the layering principle. The kind of thing that would be suitable for skiing or cross-country skiing. Combined with leg warmers and hiking boots. Snowshoes and poles with snow baskets can be hired or bought – it’s a good idea to seek advice from a specialist shop.

Through deep snow on cloud 9.

How nice that the sun is shining for our tour today! With plenty of sunscreen applied, sunglasses on our noses and a snack in our rucksack, off we tramp. We have chosen an easy beginners’ route which is very clearly marked with flashes of coloured paint. Even though the walk takes us along relatively avalanche-free slopes, this morning we nevertheless quickly checked the latest avalanche report. If only there wasn’t still the problem of my lack of fitness... The first few steps feel quite strange. I feel like a duck waddling through the snow.

But the knowledge that with snowshoes you can walk on deep snow without sinking down into it is fantastic! And instead of me having to puff along behind my daughter, suddenly we are gliding along through the idyllic winter landscape, side by side, smoothly and completely relaxed. The sky is as blue as can be and the snow crystals glisten in the bright sunshine. I am walking on snowshoes through Paradise, on cloud 9! Whoever would have thought?!