Bill and Gene Prater were hay farmers in the 50's and 60's, living in Ellensburg, Washington. When not farming, they were very active in climbing the local peaks of the Cascades Range. They made a new type of snowshoe binding that provided a claw for extra traction, and filed a patent on it in 1973. U.S. patent number 3,802,100 is for their improved binding and traction claw. 
They also designed and patented snowshoes made from aluminum tubing and neoprene decks, in contrast to the traditional wooden frame and rawhide deck. I'm sure there is a patent on this, but I have not found it.
Their interest in snowshoes grew into Sherpa Design. A year after starting, Sherpa snowshoes beat out 24 competitors in a Backpacker Magazine field test. Sherpa was dominant in the snowshoe field, and sold out to a larger company. They were known for snowshoes that had great floatation, light weight, good stability, and excellent comfort and ease of use. I have read that they are no longer being made, but they were the pioneer in metal snowshoes.
Bob
I looked around for snowshoes made from aluminum tubing and neoprene decks made by Prater...no luck. I did find U.S. patent 4,085,529 by Fred Merrifield of Bellevue, Washington which appears to fit the bill. He also improved the snowshoe with 4,271,609.
Eric Nicholson
Posted by: Eric Nicholson | January 20, 2005 at 08:36 AM
Great!! I love my snowshoes....
Posted by: Ben | February 16, 2008 at 05:04 AM
Hi Bob,
I have enjoyed reading your blog - I realize you posted this in 2005 - and got a kick out of seeing the patent drawing. It's been awhile since I last saw them. To answer your question about any additional patent's - you found the extent of it regarding Sherpa Design. My Dad only filed a patent on the specific 'hinge rod' design, nothing else (though many people thought otherwise). I believe you would call it just a technical patent(?). Good research on your part.
Son of Bill Prater,
Rex Prater
Posted by: Rex Prater | January 24, 2010 at 07:44 PM