I've seen it play out among my friends all too many times. We'll be planning an excursion to some snowy, backwoods locale, and inevitably it comes time to choose our mode of travel. "Snowshoes, for me," says one cohort. "Skis are the only way to go!" counters another. Then the snow starts to fly.

Whether you pick skis or snowshoes depends on variables such as the terrain you expect to encounter, your tolerance for the learning curve of each mode of travel, and how much you dislike having snow up your nose after a few faceplants. To help you make the proper decision, we devised a two-part system.

First, there's a quiz (see sidebar) that'll give you some idea of whether you're physically, emotionally, and philosophically predisposed to being a snowshoer or a backcountry skier.

Second, you need to consider the performance attributes of skis versus snowshoes. To help you, we took six "guinea pigs" on a backpacking trip up Oregon's Mt. Hood. Shaun, Autumn, and Paul donned backcountry telemark skis; Dan, Liz, and Marc sported snowshoes. We climbed, glided, and sprinted around the mountain in search of conditions and terrain most common to winter travel.

Put yourself in the "pigs'" bindings and imagine how you'd do in similar situations. Below is a snowshoe sizing guide.