How do the Lightning's and MSR shoes in general handle traversing of hills? I've heard that MSR shoes don't pivot laterally, just fore and aft. If that's true are the Atlas' any better?

The MSR Lightning and Lightning Ascent snowshoes are designed to bite into the side of the hill when traversing. Because of the thin frame, you get much more penetration into the snow (even hard snow) than the tube of the Atlas snowshoes. Because of this, Atlas decided to allow their binding some movement. MSR felt that a more stable, solid pivot was important and to allow the snowshoe's frame to sink deeper into the snow. One unique feature of the Lightning snowshoes is that the whole frame articulates allowing some movement to occur, kind of like a suspension for your snowshoes. This is far different from a standard tube-style snowshoe which doesn't flex at all. So, essentially, MSR has moved the flexing from the binding and pivot (no flex) to the frame (flex), unlike Atlas which engineered their snowshoes to allow the binding to flex but not the frame. I personally feel that it is a huge benefit that the binding and pivot are solidly set into the snowshoe without movement vs. it moving or flexing. This makes controlling the snowshoe much easier (i.e. side stepping, backing up, getting up after a fall, etc.). Also worth mentioning is the incredible traction you get with the Lightning snowshoes when compared with any other snowshoe on the market. Because it mimics a cookie cutter when slicing into the snow, you simply don't slip. Rather than relying on a couple of sets of crampons riveted on to the bottom, the Lightning's frame acts as the crampon. Nothing compares! So for traversing a snowy slope and climbing up a steep hill, even in powder snow, there is not a better snowshoe on the market!