UKC

Hey, does anyone have any experience dragging a plastic sled over substantial distances on flat terrain with skis on?

What sled did you use, and what systems worked best?

Thanks in advance!

Tom

In reply to tompg7:

mosr people who have climbed denali will have done this.

In reply to steveej:

Looking at google maps, it's only 50km from a main road. Is that enough to warrant it with all the kit? I always just assumed they were only used for climbing in Greenland and the poles.

In reply to tompg7:
You can get all kinds of fancy expedition sleds made from kevlar and whatnot, made by Acapulka or similar companies, but for many uses the orange plastic Paris Expedition Sled is fine. They're only about $50 from certain US hardware stores, but are hard to get as they are expensive to ship.

If you Google 'paris expedition sled' you'll find plenty of pics and also companies charging lots of money to add poles, grommets, covers etc. Depending just what you need, much of this is unnecessary. Basic Paris exped sleds have gone to both Poles. The smaller lighter Paris model beneath the Expedition is the main one used by Denali climbers. The Expedition model is significantly bigger and stronger and a different shape.

These might also be OK: http://www.snowsled.com/ice-blue-plastic-pulks/

In reply to crayefish:

50km? maybe from the north side muldrow glacier. doesnt get done very often.

Most people take a 40 minute bush plane ride from talkeetna to the kahiltna glacier to the south. From here its about 25km to the summit, and with a month of food and gear (130lbs?) a sledge is mandatory.

There is no porteradge in Alaska like there is in Asia or S.America.

In reply to tompg7:

I bought a £15 sled from halfords for training with.

It was better quality than the paris sleds everyone was using on the mountain. Its the Sno-Twin toboggan sledge

In reply to steveej:



Was looking at an approximate beeline to Route 3 to the south, but obviously would be longer up the glacier. I didn't know it was a month trip though; sounds like a fun climb to do!

In reply to tompg7:

google 'denali sled rigging'. Lots of simple methods around.

In reply to Damo:

>


I've used these in the past they're really well made and pull well, they are quite expensive though.

In reply to tompg7:

Thanks for all the advice

In reply to tompg7:

I've made a couple following the instructions in this article and dragged them about 300kms plus in Norway. Total cost about £20 each and a third the weight of the professional ones. You have to tweak them a bit on the go for best results but they work just fine.

http://www.explorenorth.com/articles/buildasled.html