Three

Snowden has started her first ski season. She has three solid days of sled riding under her belt and seems quite pleased to schuss along in her Kindershuttle. Our skating forays have been limited to the flat but crowded Hyak Snow Park. This trailhead accesses the John Wayne trail and offers about 7 miles of flat groomed trail along the edge of Keechelus Lake. The trailhead is also home to the sledding hill.

The sledding hill is where people come to try and injure their children. Looking like some actuarial nightmare, small children on sleds line up next to large beer swilling men clad in cammo snowmobile suits and clutching oversize inner-tubes. All are waiting for a chance to fling themselves down a hard-packed snowy incline. At the bottom of the hill, successful sledders stand like bowling pins waiting to be clobbered by the incoming human projectiles. Definitely not our scene.

The trail is populated by a slightly more civilized brand of snow slider. The skier. Most of the skiers are merrily trudging in the track dodging snowshoer and the odd lost sledder. We take to the center of trail. The skating lane.

The flattness of the trail makes pulling the sled deceptively easy. The rigid traces and slick base allow the pulk to track well and once up to speed it feels like skating up a mild incline. It is only when an actual hill (rare on this trail) presents itself that the real difficulty of pulling 30+ pounds of sled and baby is revealed.

Snowden seems to love riding in the sled. On our second trip this season she fell asleep and napped for the whole ski. During our last ski she was looking a bit tired so Eliza took her out of the harness and laid her down among the sheepskins, hot-water bottles and down jackets that line the inside of the sled so that she could nap. She promptly flipped onto her belly and spent the rest of the day waving at other skiers while keeping up a running commentary on the scenery.

At one point the trail divided into two parallel paths. Snowden could look out and see Eliza skating next to her. She found this immensely entertaining and grinned and waved as Eliza skated by.

I hope that her enthusiasm for riding in a sled translates to an ejoyment of skiing itself. We will have to wait a few years to find out for sure, but for now skiing has become a great family activiy.

If you go…

If you plan on taking your child skiing here are a few reccomendations:

1. The Sled - I am a huge fan of the Kindershuttle from Wilderness Engineering. The sled and harness are simple, stable and easy to pull. The sled corners and sidehills well and is easy to descend with on light nordic gear. I considered the Chariot - but passed on it due to expense and the fact that it sits quite high off the ground and rides on skis. This limits the use of the pulk to groomed areas only and raised some question about stability. Another bonus to the Kindershuttle is that it can be used as a normal freight sled when Snowden graduates to skis.

2. The Skis -It is no mystery that I like gear. I have found, though, that in some pursuits the highest end gear does not translate to a better experience. With Skate Skiing however, this does not prove true. High quality skis that are well fit, and well prepared (base grind and wax) can make you more efficient and help ease the burden of the pulk.

Eliza and I both got out skis from Mark Waetcher at Nordic Ultratune in Winthrop, WA. When Eliza was looking for new skate skis a couple of years ago we were frustrated with the lack of knowledge vendors on the west side of the mountains had. We were looking for good gear but had a hard time figuring out what made a Fischer better than a Madschus.

On a trip to Winthrop we wandered into Mark’s basement shop and found what we were looking for. Individually matched skis, base grinds matched the area and snow temparture you ski, waxing advice (well really a waxing lesson) are all par for the course at Nordic Ultratune. Eliza and I are both skiing on Rossignol Xium Skate Skis. I use the boots as well.

I can not overstate the difference this has made in the efficency and speed of my skiing. Having a ski and boot the fit properly allows me to put the maximum amount of power (not much I am afraid) possible into my kick. Well prepped skis let me get the most glide my technique will allow. The skis cannot make up for a lack of fittness or technique, but they do let me get the most out of what I have.

I have really appreciated this efficiency while pulling the pulk. I was worried that Eliza would easily outdistance me and that adding sled to our skiing would slow us down a great deal. We are skating farther and faster than before even with the sled. Alot of this has to do with the skis.

3 - Keeping the Baby Warm - We were worried about keeping Snowden warm over the course of a couple of hours of skiing. The sled in fully enclosed so it is protected from wind and snow. We put a couple of sheepskin pillow cases on the bottom of the sled along with a hot water bottle. Snowden is bundled up in a few layers and wrapped in an alpacaca blanket Eliza knit. If the day is particulary cold then we will add a down jacket to the blanket.

In a short time the inside of the sled heats up to what seems like room temprature and we have to open up one of the vent so the window does not steam up. The sled is big enough for Snowden to lay down in along with all her insulation. We harness her in if the terrrain is hillly or curvy, but for long straight trails this is not a big concern.

4- Food and Beverage - We learned quickly that a key to skiing as a family is keeping the nursing mom fed and hydrated. We take advantage of the carrying capacity of the sled to carry thermoses of hot tea, baked goods and copious amounts of chocolate (Rittersport!!). We also make sure we have extra clothing for the longer stops that travel with an 11 month old can demand. Eliza and I both ski with small hydration packs as well. This keeps us all going for a couple of hours