Snowshoe: Difference between revisions

The origin and age of snowshoes are not precisely known, although historians{{who|date=July 2023}} believe they were invented from 4,000 to 6,000 years ago, probably starting in [[Central Asia]].<ref name="refGvsnowshoes">{{cite web|url=http://www.gvsnowshoes.com/eng/hist_raq.html|title=Raquettes GV - Fabricant de raquettes à neige|work=Raquettes GV}}</ref> [[United Kingdom|British]] [[archaeology|archaeologist]] [[Jacqui Wood]] hypothesized that the equipment interpreted to be the frame of a backpack of the [[Chalcolithic]] [[mummy]] [[Ötzi]] was actually part of a snowshoe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/the_hitch/article516866.ece|title=The Times - UK News, World News and Opinion}}</ref> [[Strabo]] wrote that the inhabitants of the [[Caucasus]] used to attach flat surfaces of leather under their feet and that its inhabitants used round wooden surfaces, something akin to blocks, instead. However, the "traditional" webbed snowshoe as used today had direct origins to North American indigenousIndigenous people, e.g., the Huron, Cree, and so forth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snowshoemag.com/2012/06/17/snowshoes-and-the-canadian-first-nations/|title=Snowshoes and the Canadian First Nations|work=Snowshoe Magazine|date=17 June 2012}}</ref> [[Samuel de Champlain]] wrote, referencing the Huron and Algonquin First Nations, in his travel memoirs (V.III, pg. 164), "Winter, when there is much snow, they (the Indians) make a kind of snowshoe that are two to three times larger than those in France, that they tie to their feet, and thus go on the snow, without sinking into it, otherwise they would not be able to hunt or go from one location to the other".

===North American indigenousIndigenous peoples===

The indigenousIndigenous peoples of North America developed the most advanced and diverse snowshoes prior to the 20th century. Different shapes were adapted to the different conditions in each region.<ref name=back>{{cite news |last1=Gillespie |first1=Craig |title=A Look Back - An Overview of Traditional Snowshoe Design In Canada |url=https://www.snowshoemag.com/a-look-back-an-overview-of-traditional-snowshoe-design-in-canada/ |work=Snowshoe Magazine |date=18 October 2004}}</ref> Despite their great diversity in form, snowshoes were, in fact, one of the few cultural elements common to all tribes that lived where the winters were snowy, in particular, the Northern regions. Nearly every [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas]] culture developed its own particular shape of shoe, the simplest being those of the far north.

Compared to modern indigenousIndigenous-made snowshoes, wood-and-rawhide snowshoes mass-produced by Europeans tend to have looser, simpler webbing, with wider rawhide strips, as this is cheaper to make.<ref name=back/> However, this may reduce the floatation and let the shoes sink in powder.

Outside of indigenousIndigenous populations and some competitions such as the [[Arctic Winter Games]], very few of the old-fashioned snowshoes are actually used by enthusiasts anymore, although some value them for the artisanship involved in their construction. They are sometimes seen as decorations, mounted on walls or on [[Fireplace mantel|mantels]] in ski lodges.