Just like in hiking, poles offer many advantages in alpine skiing or snowshoe hiking. But before heading out in the snow, it's important to properly prepare your poles and know how to use them in the snow — check out all our tips.
How to use your hiking poles in the snow?
Just as in summer hiking, using poles for ski hiking doubles your points of contact, giving you better weight distribution, improved balance, and engagement of almost every muscle group — sparing your leg and thigh muscles in the process. When moving through deep powder snow, even with snowshoeing, you can tend to sink a little — in that case, poles help you stay upright. On uneven terrain, they also help you manage descents, ascents, and obstacles more effectively. On traverses, they genuinely improve balance and make you feel more confident and secure.
If you already go summer hiking and want to walk in the snow, there's no need to change your poles. It's perfectly possible to use your regular hiking poles for a snow outing, provided you make a few adjustments. Check out all our tips for properly preparing your poles before heading out ski hiking or snowshoeing.
- Fit your poles with winter baskets: if you use your regular hiking poles, the first thing to do is replace the summer baskets with winter ones. Their wider diameter will prevent the poles from sinking too deep into the snow.
- Adjust the wrist straps: if you already use your poles for hiking, your straps are probably simple and not gauntlet-style. That's a good thing! Because in the snow, you'll be wearing mitts or gloves that you don't normally use, and they can be quite thick. You'll therefore need to adjust the straps by loosening the strap.
- Check the length of your poles: the height of your ski boots may differ from that of your hiking shoes. Make sure your poles are set to the right height — meaning your arm forms a right angle at the elbow. Or, if you prefer, adjust your poles slightly longer to increase your range of motion for a more active stride on flat terrain.
- Go for a clip-lock system: if you opt for adjustable multi-section poles, choose a clip-lock system rather than a screw-lock. A lever will be much easier to use in the conditions found in high mountains. Moreover, tightening and loosening a screw can be tricky when wearing mitts or thick gloves.
