Backcountry Skiing & Ice Fishing in Deep Snow? You Need a Real Winter Camping Shovel

You winter camp, ice fish, and backcountry ski, all at twenty below. You’ve got the survival skills, brute strength, and problem-solving awareness to get deep into the wilderness. Yet every time you want to dig out a tent pad in heavy snow, or set up your ice fishing shelter, your one-handed avalanche shovel just isn’t up to the task. The snow is too deep, hardpacked, or crusty for that little guy. The baby shovel doesn’t match up to your big winter expeditions. Sound familiar?

This winter I discovered the Alpha Shovel by DMOS. My ski camping trips have been revitalized. Finally, a shovel long enough for my tall frame. I can do my grunt work standing up. I can pick snow up and leverage it for the throw with the D-bar grip. I can also just push heavier loads out of the way on frozen lakes. This is the first push shovel I’ve ever taken winter camping. No amount of snow stands in my way of pitching a good camp or clearing a fishing spot.

Take this weekend, for example. I took my wife, daughter, and our family friends on a Valentine’s Day river ski up the frozen Knife River in northern Minnesota. Our intense cold this January has turned Lake Superior tributaries into corridors of life for backcountry skiers. We lucked out with a sunny Valentine’s Day (not your norm up here in Duluth). But we still had deep snow to deal with in the riverbed. Great for skiing, but what about setting up for the Valentine’s picnic?

The DMOS Alpha made our trip. When we got to a good shore lunch spot, I unclipped the shovel from my pack and set it up instantly, then dug out a level spot for us to take our skis off and relax in. The Alpha is fun to use! It made light work out of deep snow on the riverbank. And it’s even lighter to pack. It’s easy to clip onto my ski backpack, and I didn’t even feel it while we were skiing. And it can even work as a makeshift table in deep snow!
Valentine’s Day was a charm. Thanks, DMOS! 

By Chris Pascone