Backpacking with a Sled (Sleigh)

“Do those of you who head out backpacking in the snow carry gear on a sled? If so, what kind do you use?”

“Check the archives -
AmyG did a thread about them last winter.”

“link : AmyG 's Dashing through the snow thread”

“I can't imagine they would be much use on anything but the tamest (read: boring) terrain.”

“Unless yer going downslope...get on and GO!”

“I'm planning to use a sled to haul my gear on a trip in January. I'm doing something similar to the one AmyG made. Yeah it's tame terrain and we're skiing in to a bunkhouse (complete with woodstove!). Plus I'm a klutz on skiis so I think the sled'll work well for this particular trip. For another trip that won't be on tame terrain, I'm snowshoeing and using my backpack.”

“It seems like I remember AmyG mentioning that the sled had a tendancy to slip to the downhill side of the trail - kinda fishtailing, I reckon...”

“I usually haul my gear on my back using my skis, but I have used sleds. In the right terrain they can be a Godsend, in the wrong terrain they can be a nightmare.

They do tend to sidehill if you have to go at an angle downhill (I have seen them roll) on steep terrain they can really push, even if you are using snowshoes (using "skins" can really help!) and on hard pack or icy slopes they can be dangerous.

I use a Mountainsmith sled...but I have seen some homemade ones that worked almost as well for a fraction of the cost. Many mountaineers use the homemade jobs instead of the expensive ones because they are usually torn up pretty bad after a major climb.”

“This February we're planning on skiing with sleds in Yellowstone to a thermal area up Cache Creek. It's about 8 mile, one-way, with a fairly gradual uphill. The snow's so deep (>6') that sleds should help distribute the weight a little better. We're using the long, cheap-plastic, toboggan-types.
"This should work."-Famous last words”

“I used one last year and posted extensivley with AmyG on it. I had a homemade sled.

Some quick lessons.

Get rigid PVC pipe, not flexible.
Pack as low and stable as you can.
Get a good secure harness/belt.

Our problems included:

Constant rolling on a short (1/2 mile) section of trail that was hilly twisty and turny. On the 3 mile approach road and the old railway grade it was fine. The inbetween 1/2 mile took 2 hours. My sled was fine. My friend's wasnot packed low and stable and we had major frustration.

The 1/2 inch flexible PVC allowed for too much play. Ridgid would have helped control the sled and presumably cut down on rollovers.

Trails can be deceptive. We finally quit (and I do mean QUIT) when we were on a long flat trail . . .that cut across a steep slope. The down hill slope of the otherwise flat trail caused fish tailing and then four rollovers in 50 yards. On the third rollover I took a bunge cord in the face trying to adjust the load.

The kids sleds are what people use . . but I found it too long and narrow, and it sat too high. SOmething wider may have been better.

Going down hill was a blast.

It took us 6 hours to go in 6.5 miles. (The 1/2 mile 2 hour section realy sucked the juice out of us). It took us 2.5 hours going out.”

“Does anyone have the scoop on this make?”

“My sled is very similar to AmyGee's, except I use broom sticks instead of PCV tubes. I drill a hole in the end of the sticks and clip it to the sled with a carabiner. And I made a harness using the sides of 2 plastic pails. Works good so far. When I put it in the car, I unclip the sticks to save space.”

“Violin, you can join us on our February Frozen Fanny trip. I'm guessing the snow will be at about 6-8 ft., and we'll be snowshoesing w our packs at about 7,000 - 8,000 ft elevation.

Come join us, and afterwards I doubt if you'd call it tame or boring...”

“Stanlee I don't get the two pail harrness -please more detail.”

“Wolfsis, take 2 pails with a 14" diameter opening and cut (I used a jigsaw) two 3" wide strips from it's sides. The strips should be about 18" long and look like a "C".

Overlap the "C"s to form a circle. At one end where they overlap, drill a hole and thread a rope thru them, then tie a knot on each end of the rope. This will be your pivot point for the harness.

At the other end of the "C"s, cut a gap (half way down) on the top edge of one "C", and cut a gap on the bottom edge of the other "C". This is where you hook them together.

Of course you put on the harness, with all your winter clothes on before you cut the gaps...that way you can get a snug fit.

Later, you can cut a few more gaps, so you have a few more "sizes" on your harness.

So, to get out of the harness, all you need is to lift one of the ends of a "C".

Then I drill 2 more holes (one on the left and the other on the right side) of the harness and thread another rope to the pre-drilled ends of the broomsticks. Tie a knot at the ends of of the rope. Voila.

Hope it wasn't too confusing.”

“wanderer -

Where will that trip be? Sounds right up my alley.”

“Vioin... Somewhere in the Northern / Central Sierra's, exact trail hasn't been selected yet. Fly into Reno, NV or Sacramento, CA.”

“Somebody did say Gearsled!”