Bella Bella goes snowshoeing

Have you ever tried walking in deep, soft snow?

It's really hard. Your feet sink in, and you have to step really high to walk.

Human beings solved this problem by inventing things like snowshoes and cross-country skis. These inventions let people stay on top of the snow, and move around without sinking in. Snowshoes were probably thought up over 12,000 years ago!

This little bear is my buddy Blythe.  

  She is demonstrating how to walk using traditional snowshoes, which were made of wood and rawhide. Snowshoes spread your weight over a wider area than just your foot, so you don't sink into soft snow.

  Nowadays, snowshoes are mostly used for sports, exercise, and wintertime sight-seeing. Modern-day snowshoes are made with metal, plastic, and other high-tech stuff. 

My friend Louise took me snowshoeing at Mount Seymour, high above metropolitan Vancouver. 

You can get a great view south over the city toward Mount Baker, a volcano in the U.S. state of Washington.

 

Mount Seymour is 1,450 metres high. People have been downhill skiing here since 1937. There is also a ten-kilometre-long network of trails for snowshoeing called the Discovery Snowshoe Trails.

On average, Mount Seymour gets about 345 centimetres of snow by the end of winter. It sure is beautiful.

 

I enjoyed being carried in a cozy backpack!

Mount Seymour is just one peak among the North Shore Mountains, which are part of the mighty Coast Mountains range. 

Other famous peaks above Vancouver are Grouse Mountain (1,231 metres high), Hollyburn Mountain (1,325 metres high, in the Cypress Mountain area), and the Lions (1,654 metres high).

Of course, wild black bears and grizzly bears don't bother with snowshoes! They've come up with a different approach to cold winters. They find a safe den, and hibernate until the weather warms up again.

The hibernation den can be a hollowed-out tree, a shallow cave, or even a snug pile of leaves and branches. The bears' heart-beat and breathing slow right down, and they sleep for months. They live off the fat they gain during the summer and autumn, when they stuff themselves on things like berries, plants, and fish.

Mount Seymour photos courtesy L. Christie
Story © S. Clouthier
Other photos © S. Clouthier and D. Wei