For centuries, snowshoes have been a mainstay of winter travel. Their origins are not entirely known, but some historians believe they first were developed around 4,000 to 6,000 years ago. The earliest known snowshoes were crude, a far cry from the tubular aluminum-framed, neoprene-decked snowshoes of today. They once were a simply pieces of wide, oval board called “shoeskis” that could be strapped to a traveler’s feet.
