Since the snowshoeing season is close by i thought it would be a good idea to share and older article posted by a volunteer NSAR member about the hazards of non proper use of snowshoes:

http://www.northshorerescue.com/2010/11/29/how-to-kill-yourself-snowshoeing/

There are special off trail snowshoes recommended when venturing in the back country. Best to date and the only one i will use are the MSR Lighting Ascent and maybe the REVO's. Reason: the traction system is engineered for off trail mountain terrain.

Lastly i would like to recommend a life saving book when comes to traveling in avalanche terrain:

Avalanche Essentials- a step by step system for safety and survival, written by Bruce Tremper. (MEC has it).

Also a useful link with the current avalanche conditions in the mountain ranges:

http://www.avalanche.ca/

Cheers!

I have faired pretty well with MSR Evos. Obviously sound judgement is required and you need to know when to transition to crampons or just boots, but that is true with all snowshowing.

For the record, the blog post is by Mike Coyle, a Coquitlam SAR Manager (and former BCMC'er).

http://blog.oplopanax.ca/2010/10/how-to-kill-yourself-snowshoeing/

His blog is a great resource for those interested in the SAR world - http://blog.oplopanax.ca/