I really enjoyed this article and how reminded me of the first time I hiked in snow without crampons. I had to use fallen spruce branches to steady myself with each step on the way down. It was like walking on little brooms. It did the job well enough for a southern California native.
Yeah -- I learned to walk on dirty snow where I could when I didn't have snowshoes. The albedo makes the snowpack melt a little more than its surroundings and it makes a nice crust over what could otherwise be quite deep. Stepping onto clean snow and postholeing is quite an experience.
Clean snow is quite nice if you have a long downhill chute though because then you can just plunge step quickly down and let the snow cushion your quite large steps.
