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10 winters and counting for my snow clogs

Stewart Oksenhorn
Aspen Times Weekly

Papa don’t need no new pair of shoes. Not since he was smart enough to buy a pair of Salomon snow clogs a full decade ago.

When I bought this pair of shoes, snow clogs were the latest thing. It certainly wasn’t being on the cutting edge, or the trendiness, that got me. These things looked practical ” warm, easy to slip on, good traction, and black, which, I was made to understand, goes with anything. (And indeed, they do go with anything. Or I should say, in my case, they have gone with everything, whether they really do or not.)

At the time, I wasn’t thinking of the clogs as indestructible, but that has turned out to be their defining quality. Yes, they are warm, comfy and easy to get into (no laces, buckles, etc.). The lone disappointment has been the traction: With their grooved rubber bottoms, they resemble tires on an 18-wheeler that can pull through anything. Alas, they slide on the snow and ice about as much as any winter boot.



That is easily forgiven by how they have stood the test of time. When I bought them, I was still more than a year away from parenthood; my daughter now reads herself to sleep at night. This isn’t a case of careful treatment, hauling the favorite old shoes out of the closet strictly when weather dictates. These snow clogs are my everyday winter shoes, and have been for 10 winters. They are my hike-up-Smuggler shoes, my bike-to-work shoes, my dress-up shoes.

The tops and seams are frayed only slightly; the soles look as if they’ve got another decade in them, minimum. A co-worker marveled at the unfaded, unstained condition. (I should mention they are also maintenance-free: no weatherproofing necessary.) They have become more comfortable over the years, feeling now more like slippers than shoes.




Some three years ago, I saw another pair at a going-out-of-business sale. I bought them, figuring I’d be covered a few more years. The way it looks, I may die in that second pair of snow clogs ” and still live a good, long life.

stewart@aspentimes.com

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