P018 : Run the Snow — When Winter Becomes Your Playground

Jake Holloway / Aug. 1, 2026

I never understood people who looked forward to winter until I started snowshoeing with someone who genuinely loves it. He runs in the snow the way other people run on a track — with complete commitment and zero hesitation. The first time I kept up with him across an open snowfield, snow flying around my feet and the cold air burning my lungs in the best possible way, I understood. Winter isn't something to endure. For the right people, in the right gear, it is the best season of all.

Why Snowshoeing Is the Most Underrated Winter Sport on the Planet

I used to think snowshoeing was what people did when they couldn't ski. A consolation activity for the athletically cautious. I was completely wrong. Snowshoeing at pace — running across open snowfields, pushing up steep slopes with crampons biting into hard pack, descending through powder with snow flying around your knees — is one of the most physically demanding and genuinely exhilarating things I have ever done outdoors. It requires no lifts, no groomed runs, and no expensive passes. Just the mountain, the snow, and the willingness to move fast through both.

What to Wear When You're Running in the Snow — The Layering System That Actually Works

The biggest mistake people make in winter is overdressing for the start of the effort. When you're running in snowshoes, your body generates enormous heat — within ten minutes of a hard uphill, you'll be stripping layers regardless of the outside temperature. The system that works: a moisture-wicking base layer that moves sweat away from your skin, a lightweight insulating mid-layer you can stuff into your pack when the climbing starts, and a wind-resistant shell that blocks the cold without trapping heat. Gloves you can remove with your teeth. Goggles for the exposed ridges. White headband to keep your ears warm without overheating your head.

Running Together — Why Winter Adventure Is Better With Someone Who Pushes You

I wouldn't have pushed as hard alone. That's the honest truth about the day this photograph was taken. My partner set the pace on the uphill and I matched it, which meant I went faster than I would have chosen for myself. On the descent through the powder field, he went first and I followed his line, which meant I committed to terrain I might have hesitated on solo. The best outdoor partners don't just share the experience — they expand what you're willing to attempt. Find someone who moves at the edge of your ability and go somewhere cold with them.

The photograph that opens this post was taken at the exact moment we both found our stride. We had been climbing for forty minutes through heavy snow, and somewhere on the upper slope the effort clicked into something that felt less like work and more like flight. We were running — actually running — across the surface of a winter mountain, snow spraying from our snowshoes, the cold air sharp in our lungs, the blue sky enormous above us.

I have been outdoors in every season and in many different conditions. I have had days that were more technically demanding, more remote, more objectively impressive. But I am not sure I have ever felt more purely alive than in that moment — moving fast through a winter landscape with someone who was equally committed to the pace, equally delighted by the cold, equally unwilling to slow down.

UNISPO outdoor apparel is built for days like this. Fabrics that manage the extreme temperature swings of hard winter effort — cold at the start, hot on the climb, cold again the moment you stop. Fits that work with a full range of motion at speed. Colors that are visible against snow and sky.

Winter is not a season to wait out. It is a season to run into, at full pace, with the right gear and the right person beside you.

Find your snowfield. Run.