Wood Magazine 48 by Larry Clayton

Author:Larry Clayton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Wood, Home and hobby woodworker
Publisher: Meredith Corporation
Published: 1991-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

Carl's snowshoe models display a variety of function-following designs: vertical, in background from left, Green Mountain, Kiddypaw, Trailpaw, Catpaw; In foreground, Ojibwa, behind, Alaskan. The cabin backdrop, on Carl's property, is vintage Adirondack.

and traders, carrying 80-100-pound packs, needed larger styles to support them.

They varied by regional conditions, too. Today, names for snow-shoe styles still reflect this aspect, for instance, Alaskan, Green Mountain (New Hampshire), Maine, Michigan, and Ojibwa.

Oddly enough, snowshoes never caught on in Europe. There, skis always have dominated the winter scene.

Great strides in snowshoes

According to Carl, snowshoes traditionally fall into two types: bear-paws, and those with a tail. The

bearpaw style, shown in the photo opposite page, has a rounded heel and looks somewhat like its namesake. The tailed shoe, such as the Alaskan or the Ojibwa shown on the snow in the photo left, has a frame that joins to form a sometimes long tail that helps keep the snowshoe tracking straight.

Carl's snowshoes, made in seven styles and selling for 8175 to $375 per pair (bindings extra), encompass heritage as well as innovation. His Catpaw, for instance, maintains somewhat of a bearpaw shape. But it's innovative because Carl has scaled the Catpaw down in size as well as narrowed it.

Through the winter snow-shoeing workshops he teaches for the Adirondack Mountain Club, Carl gets to know consumer needs. "In the '90s, people-are mostly interested in recreational snowshoeing rather than 'working' shoes for hunting, trapping, or transporting heavy loads. And recreational snowshoeing calls for light, easily maneuverable shoes," claims Carl. "In fact, many cross-country skiers want snow-shoes to carry along, so they can't be heavy or bulky."

The smaller, sleeker snowshoes that now lead Carl's line evolved partly from racing experience. "In 1980, I designed my first lightweight wooden-frame Catpaws and used them for racing in U.S. Snowshoe Association [now defunct] events. They were great on the track, so I said 'Shoot, why not in the woods?'

"Meg and I took them out and put them through all kinds of tests in the High Peaks where nobody had been making tracks. We found out that they did need a heavier frame to hold up, and that was the beginning of today's Cat-paws and similar,

Continued

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