What's a sledge?

One of the best things I discovered on my trip to Finland was what the Finns call a "sledge". Also known as a kick sled, it is a means of human powered, eco-friendly transport that many Finns and in fact many Scandinavians use during the snowy winter months.

You see them outside homes in the counryside.

The way they work is the chair can carry goods or Grandma. You stand between the blades on the back with one foot on either blade and you push with the other foot on the snow to get yourself up to speed. If you are going down a hill or have gathered enough speed, you can put bvoth feet on he runners and coast. The blades are extremely flexible and if you want to slow down, push the blades apart from each other as if snow plowing on skiis. This will slow you down enough to regain control of your sledge. It s alos very easy to steer by pulling the handle left or right.

I think these wonderful devices should be used in the North Country of New York State. The one draw back is that the Finns are not as obsessed with snow removal as we are. The snow remains on the ground and is packed down. Where slippery, gravel is placed on the ground. This gives the sledge uses a pretty open field for travel.

Jason ordered one for us from a Vermont based company that sells the Swedish made version (apologies to my Finnish friends for not being able to find a Finnish made kick sled here in the states!) It's beautiful! Sadly, the snow is melting, so I will have to wait until next winter to really give it a good workout.

http://vermontkicksled.com/

I did manage to take it on a short shake down cruise...