Patent ID: 8544890

Claim:
An apparatus configured to receive a pole tip and to assist a user to achieve a standing position in snow, the apparatus comprising: a pole tip receiving member comprising a base and a pole tip engagement, the pole tip engagement comprising a pocket having an opening and a floor, wherein a cross sectional area of the pocket at the opening of the pocket is greater than a cross sectional area of the pocket at the floor, the opening of the pocket comprising an area substantially larger than a diameter of a pole to facilitate receiving a tip of the pole within the pocket when the pole is oriented at a nonperpendicular orientation with respect to a surface of a snow traversal device, the smaller cross sectional area at the floor of the pocket limiting lateral movement of the pole with respect to the pole tip receiving member; and a coupling configured to secure the pole tip receiving member to the snow traversal device, wherein engagement of the pole by the pole tip receiving member transfers a pressure applied by the pole to a supporting substrate of the snow traversal device, the transfer of the pressure applied by the pole increasing the effective surface area of the pole.