When spring arrives and the rivers start moving, it’s all too easy to think more about canoeing and other spring pleasures than to take care of those old webs. Over the years I’ve lost a couple pairs of snowshoes due to my own ignorance. So, I thought I would share what I learned the hard way and encourage all drift sloggers to store their snowshoes carefully. These days, with a store-bought pair of raquettes going for 70 or 80 clams, it sure is worth the effort to take care of the ones we have.
Basically, a hivernant should be on the lookout for four factors which can ruin showshoes (these do not include stepping on a bear trap or falling off a cliff!).
One. Mildew and rot in the rawhide: This is caused by storage in a humid place or improper drying after use. What happens is the tiny mildew fungus begins growing in the damp raw leather and consumes the strands from the inside out; weakening the rawhide until it could break from your weight (usually eight miles out in the deep snow). Eventually this is the demise of all snowshoe leather after a season or two. If a very fine fuzz or powder appears on the lacings this the mildew at work.
Prevention: Thoroughly dry the shoes before storage. A day in the bright sun, turned a few times, will go a long way towards killing mildew (this goes for canvas, or other leather products as well). Then after drying, heavily coat entire showshoe, except bindings, with spar or polyurethane varnish to seal out moisture.
Two. Wood Rot: Essentially this is the same problem as with the rawhide (above); moisture in the wood which promotes rot.
Prevention: Make sure shoes are carefully dried and then varnished, being sure to cover the wood between the lacing. Also pay special attention to the wear areas and any exposed end grains at the tails (and tips if a pointed style). The usual habit of jabbing the shoes in the snow outside your cabin can wear off the old varnish so the tails soak up water. Ash, which is the most common wood for frames, is especially susceptible to drawing moisture up through the end grain and, of course, causing internal rot. When varnishing, allow several coats to absorb into the ends to seal out water.
Three: Warping: Most snow walkers have an upturned tip for riding up in deep snow. These bends were done on a jig after the wood was boiled or steamed, bent, then air dried. When released from the jig, the pieces will rebound slightly and then hold their shape well if the wood is kept dry. However, depending on wood quality, grain, heat during bend and lacing tension, these upturned bends will slowly lose their curve. It’s also possible the whole frame will twist or otherwise warp. These problems can be avoided.
Prevention: After shoes are dried and varnished, they should be placed bottoms together and lashed at three places (see Figure 1); once around the tails and at both sides just ahead of the crossbar. This will minimize any frame warp. After tying the frames firmly together look at the gap between the tips. This will vary from almost nothing on some Bearpaws, to over a foot on some Alaskan or Trail models. Now grab the two fronts and pull them apart against the lashing; the gap will widen until you feel strong resistance against your pull. This gap is the distance you will need to spar between the tips with a notched stick spacer (see Figure 2), spread by pulling apart both tips
Find a stick (an-old wooden shingle is good) split out or cut a spacer roughly two inches wide and a little longer than the gap between the pulled open tips. Cut a notch in one end, place against one side while pulling apart the fronts, mark the stick, remove, cut second notch to the mark, pull open tips again and snap stick in place for storage (see Figure 3). The result should be a stick spacer that maintains moderate pressure between the tips.
If your frames have lost some of their upturn in the front it is possible to re-gain some curve by thoroughly soaking the wood and doing the above procedure with a spacer while the wood is still wet, then allowing them to dry. However, I don’t think you can create an upturned end on snowshoes that were never bent using heat in the first place.
Sometimes in very slushy weather, because the wet icy conditions can strip varnish pretty fast, your snow walkers will get saturated before seasonal storage comes around. In this case, they should be lashed with a spacer, so they won’t lose the curve they have. Keep that spacer stick handy!
Four: Rodents. Put your webs in a dark, quiet place, throw a couple tarps on top and what do you have? Mouse heaven; they love to live in the webbing, shred the tarps for nesting material and eat the rawhide for snacks. I lost a real nice pair of Bearpaws to a bunch of the little buggers that way; ate all the rawhide out of one and most of it out of the other. Porcupines, I’ve heard, will sometimes eat the whole works, frames and all; must be the varnish they go for. It must raise hell with their digestion!
Prevention: Keep weasels in your cabin, suspend webs on a wire, hang them over the mantel, or wear them year ’round.
In a nutshell, hivernants, keep those deep snow walkers dry, varnished, spaced and rodent free! They should last at least one lifetime of occasional use, maybe more!