Winter Walking?

More simple than snowshoeing, easier than Nordic skiing, requires no skills but going on foot—it’s winter walking.

Throughout Europe's Alps you see folks walking in winter. I don't think they have a formal name for it. Maybe they call it trekking. Whatever-at ski areas and in mountain towns you see people of all ages wandering among the hills.

Maybe wandering isn't the right word. These folks tend to walk with purposeful strides.

Anyway, I first encountered this in the Jungfrau region of Switzerland. In Grindelwald, to be exact.

I was there to ski, of course, but was amazed to see people without skis or snowboards riding the ski lifts.

Where were they going?

They were going off to walk well-beaten but snow-covered paths that splayed out over the countryside. And there were plenty of them. Those who rode the chairlift were basically walking back to town, a distance of five miles or so, as I recall. But, a lot of winter walkers were heading uphill, or down-valley, or wherever.

I tried it one afternoon. It wasn't thrilling, but it was highly enjoyable. And, along the way, I passed, and was sometimes passed by, literally dozens of folks trekking in both directions.

Since then, I've encountered these intrepid types in other parts of Switzerland, and in Austria and northern Italy.

But, you don't see this sort of thing much in the U.S.

Until now.

Up in the more northerly reaches of Vermont, at Smugglers' Notch Resort, they've instituted a Winter Walking program. It is just that-a program that hooks guests up with a guide to go walking. Not skiing or snowshoeing. Walking.

Now, leave it to us Americans to formalize something as simple as walking. I mean, do you really need a guide and a formal start/finish time to just go for a walk? Why not just head out your front door?

Maybe not. But, undoubtedly, one of the pleasantries of a program like that is meeting new folks and sharing the experience.

And, do you really need traction device (which Smuggs provides) for your winter boots?

Probably not. I never saw them in use in Europe. But, in the U.S. we're so litigious and injury conscious, that it's probably better to have them.

No matter. If it gets people outside doing even mild exercise and relating to their larger surroundings, that's a good thing.

And, it certainly creates a non-ski activity for folks who don't want to, or can't, participate in more strenuous snowsliding.

So, let's call it a whole 'nother wintersport. Winter walking. Go for it!

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