Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Winter Access Forum Costco Snowshoes

Yukon Charlie's Pro-Guide Aluminum Snowshoe Kit

http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductSet.aspx?Prodid=11596960&search=snowshoe&topnav=&Mo=0&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode%20matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=snowshoe&Ntt=snowshoe&No=0&Nty=1&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial

Has anyone bought these? Opinions?

Thanks,
Mark

The nice thing about buying from Costco is they have a great return policy.

there was a discussion about these on another forum. I recall they were considered ok for casual use, but if you're thinking about steep terrain, the traction on these was nowhere near sufficient.

For trips up slopes like you find at Whitney, MSR Lightning Ascent are the current performance leader, but they also cost $300 in my size. The key difference on these is that the entire frame is essentially an oversized crampon, not just relying on some small claws around the binding.

If you're not aiming high, heck, they'll be better than no snow shoes for sure.

small version for lightweight people on sale right now at Backcountry.com

http://www.backcountry.com/msr-lightning-ascent-snowshoe-cas0488

or

http://www.backcountry.com/msr-denali-evo-snowshoe-cas0233

- you will not regret

Thanks for the feedbacks. You get what you pay for, so I'll probably go with one of the MSR models.

Regards, Mark

Take a look at the Tubbs Flex as well. Friends of mine who are hard-core winter types say these are the best snowshoes ever. Here's Online's "gear of the year" writeup.

those Tubbs look interesting, although I don't buy their heel flex thing as a mjor feature. The thing they don't point out is that snow mostly takes care of that flexing by not being a concrete surface when you actually need the snow shoes. their 24" size without add-on tails is too small for me.

hmm - found the Tubbs Alps Men's for $160, free shipping - tempting to give it a shot - there's always ebay if it doesn't cut it with a full pack.

http://www.sunnysports.com/Catalog.aspx?op=ItemDisplay&ProductID=TUBFA24

looked at the suggested links, plus several others. all things considered, i like the lightning ascents best, just need to find a sale for the 25" size.

I just bought a pair of the Tubbs Alp (45% off on ebay - couldn't resist). Will test them soon.

Just bought a pair of the Lightning Ascents from REI. The 20% discount made them affordable.

Fishmonger - Have you tested your Tubbs? What do you think of them?

Thanks again to everyone for the helpful info.

Mark

only on dry ground, since our snow here disappeared for the season. I'm heading out west soon and will most likely get to make quite a bit of use of them there.

The bindings look quite simple to operate, but the size of them doesn't appear like something that would support a lot of weight in powder conditions.

Very aggressive traction devices underneath that should give a lot of grip.

I actually have a pair of Yukon Charlie snowshoes that I bought prob 6 or 7 years ago long before Costco and REI began carrying them I believe. They are actually not bad snowshoes at all especially considering how infrequently snowshoes are needed out here in CA, I think it is something to consider. I have been on the same slopes as my partners who had MSRs and did just fine, if not occasionally better than they did.

You should think about whether it is necessary to spend $200 on snowshoes that you might use once a year in CA. I have been out to various mountains after big storms and unless you are the first one there and break trail there is often a good boot pack. If you head up 3-4 days after a storm, we usually get enough consolidation that snowshoes aren't needed. I have long considered getting an MSR model b/c that is what all the "mountaineers" seem to have, but the Yukon Charlies weigh the same, perform the same, and I rarely use them so I have never gotten around to replacing them. I say buy a less expensive set and see what you think. My guess is you find they perform just fine and you hardly use them. I get out climbing in the winter prob 15-20 times or more and could count on one hand the number of times I needed snowshoes or wished I had brought them. If I am on steep enough terrain, it is likely I am wearing crampons or booting it in steep snow. I don't know that I want to be on 40 degree snow wearing snowshoes anyway.

hiked up to Telescope Peak (well the first one on the ridge to it), and for some parts of the hike they were fine, but when it got deep, they didn't help much at all. On hard wind drift snow, they didn't have enough grip, but for the most part the steel profiles and crampon teeth did gram the ground well. The walk easily, but the bindings loosen up every 2 hours. Quick to get in and out of, so overall ok. Not sure if I will use them on Whitney this weekend, but two guys who came down today were using snow shoes and felt they were necessary.

Going up there next weekend, how close were you able to park to Mahogany Flat, or about how far is it from the closed gate to Mahogany Flat?

Thanks,

Phil

the road was closed at the kilns, but the snow also began there. Should be less snow now, so you may be able to go higher if they opened the gate.