On the Fast Track

EVERY TIME COMPETITIVE snowshoer Michelle Hummel has traveled to a world or national championship, she’s stood on the podium—in New York, in Japan, in Spain, in Italy—earning seven national and five world championships. Not bad for a sport she basically stumbled into. A longtime endurance sports athlete, Hummel was training for the Mount Taylor Winter Quadrathlon, in Grants, which requires biking, running, skiing, and snowshoeing, in 2011 and had never raced on snowshoes. So the Albuquerque resident looked for a local race and found an event on steep, singletrack trails in the Sandía Mountains. She has been hooked—and winning—ever since. 

SNOWSHOEING is a great sport for New Mexico. You can snowshoe in just about any conditions. You can snowshoe on ice, or on six inches of snow. It’s more versatile for a place that doesn’t have as consistent snow.

YOU JUST NEED A TRAIL and some snowshoes, which makes it very accessible. If you’re snowshoeing in powder, you typically want bigger snowshoes to help you float better. If you’re snowshoeing on packed trails, it gives you extra traction so you don’t slip. 

THE PLACE I TRAIN is at 10,300 feet. A lot of people are surprised, because they just don’t realize what kind of elevation New Mexico has. At those high elevations, you can get some good snow.

THE FASTEST ATHLETES have special running snowshoes. They’re different than the snowshoes you’d go out and break trail with. They’re smaller and lighter. 

FOR FIRST-TIMERS, don’t expect to go fast. Just go out to enjoy the scenery and the fresh air. 

MAKE SURE you have comfortable shoes on and all the basics for when you go out for a hike. If you’re going longer, bring appropriate amounts of food and water. 

ONE OF THE NICE THINGS about snowshoeing is you can go on a lot of different types of trails, anywhere from something that’s quite steep to something that’s quite mellow. It just depends on what type of challenge you’re up for.