Turns out all you need is some string to make the backbreaking labor of snow shoveling a bit easier. If you have never experienced back issues consider yourself lucky. If you have you might want to give this little hack a try. There’s no worse fate than taking yourself out of the game by shoveling the very thing you chase:

“No special shovels, no money to waste on half baked contraptions. All you need is a piece of rope, or chain, or anything flexible that you attach to the lowest point of your snow shovel, or other type of shovel, or pitchfork. Stand with your back straight and arms straight down. Load the shovel. Lift by curling your arm that is holding the rope while the other arm shoots the snow, or the sand etc., away. When shoveling upwards on steps, just shorten up your rope grip….. something you cannot do with the bent shovels.You can also shovel going downwards on steps, just lengthen your rope grip. At all times KEEP YOUR BACK STRAIGHT UP AND DOWN.”

And if you don’t have any string laying around, consider rolling that fresh snow like a piece of sod: