Snowshoes (also known as ‘ciaspole’ or ‘ciaspe’ in Venetian) are a special type of a wide and elongated shoe that facilitates movement on snowy terrain. Snowshoes work because of their shape, which is wide enough to evenly distribute your body weight on a surface that is wider than your feet, making you almost ‘float’ on the snow.
Historical facts about snowshoes
Even though snowshoes are becoming progressively popular as a winter activity in Alpine areas in recent years, they have been part of human history for millennia. Some archaeologists and historians believe that snowshoes have been part of human history for over 4000 years, with their use probably originating from central Asia.
Snowshoe hikes in Alpago
Regardless of where and when snowshoes became used in human history, one thing is for sure: without a shadow of a doubt, visiting Alpago with snowshoes is one of the most recommended winter experiences.
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Snowshoeing in Alpago is not only a way to keep fit (and digest the Christmas dinner), but also an “almost mystical” experience of complete immersion in nature, surrounded by breath-taking landscapes in one of the least affected areas of winter mass tourism of Veneto.
Where to hike with snowshoes in Alpago?
The paths and trails are almost unlimited: starting from the Cansiglio plain, passing through the high-altitude areas of Tambre and Chies, Pian Formosa, Malga Cate and Val Salatis, up to Monte Dolada. Every path and forest road in Alpago turns into a potential snowshoe itinerary during the winter period.
For group bookings and information about snowshoeing in the Alpago and Venetian Prealps, you will visit our information and useful contacts by clicking here.
Where to buy or rent snowshoes in Alpago?
Let’s briefly see below where to buy snowshoes in Alpago, and we also evaluate the pros and cons for both the purchase VS rental of snowshoes.
For a pair of new or little used snowshoes, we can give mainly three different options:
- Buying a pair of new snowshoes before going to Alpago: The advantage of buying your own snowshoes is that it allows you to not have to worry about the opening hours of rental shops, nor to use old equipment worn by other people. The main disadvantage is if you’re just going once to try it out: in that case you’re better off renting.
- Decathlon Alpago snowshoe rental: A swift 11 minutes drive from Bastia d’Alpago and Lake Santa Croce (see map) takes you to Decathlon, where you can rent all kinds of snowshoes and sport gear. The advantage of renting from Decathlon lies in the fact that you can rely on a giant multinational specialising in hiking and sports in general, with the guarantees that come with it.
- Snowshoes rental in local Alpago shops: For this option, we recommend you visit our information and contacts page by clicking here.