Clothes

Dress in layers . You will burn alot of energy traversing in the snow. As your body warms up along the trail, you can peel off the layers you don't need. This means you will need to bring a pack to carry all of your things [clothes, food, water, etc]. The basic layers are: inner, insulation, and shell. View my Gears Bring a pair of gloves to play in the snow.

Food

Bring along a lunch/snacks to eat on the trail. Also, carry plenty of WATER. You can get dehydrated in cold weather just as easy. Your body will sweat when you do work. You need to replace those lost fluids. If you are using a water bladder , be sure your tubing is insulated as it can get clogged up if the water in the tube freezes.

Snowshoes

We will discuss the snowshoes first. When using snowshoes, you will need a pair of boots that is water-proof. If the boots are not, your feet will get cold and you will be in agony.

If you have a pair of leather boot, you can give the seams a seal with SNO-SEAL .

The boot on your feet will be secured into the snowshoes via the bindings [look at picture below.] Snowshoes are easiest to learn for first timers. Snowshoes can be rented at REI and Sports-Chalet.

Cross-country Skis

Cross-country skis [xcskis] offer an advantage over snowshoes in that, on the downhill, they can glide and move without too much effort. But the uphill can be hard work for first timers. X-C skis require a special kind of boot that fit into the binding on the skis. The heel of the boot are free floating and flexible. Only the front tip of the boot is attach to the binding. [look at picture below.] Cross-country skis can be rented at REI and Sports-Chalet.

Another nice piece of equipment to have are gaiters. They help keep the snow out of your boots and pants.