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Row, row, row your sled
- January 18, 2010
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My last day in Norway was spent with Alex of Acapulka. I traveled to Telemark not only to pick up my new sled but also to test strapping two together and making a raft. Alex’s workshop is always a hive of activity. Although the market for polar sleds is small everyone wants one of these Rolls Royces of the sled world. Each is hand made over many days and intricate steps that are remarkably hard to complete in the below zero temperatures that surround the workshop.
When I arrived I found Alex and Petre drowning in toxic fumes trying to complete the last steps for some special sleds that were required by a Russian group. Layers of epoxy and carbon fiber then have to cure in a hot room under vacuum before being set in a giant oven. Each part meticulously cut out of layers to bespoke patterns.
Early the next morning we took my sparkling new sled and a training one Alex had in the workshop down to the harbour for some paddling. We tried various ways of strapping them together and found that my Lotus bindings had two perfectly placed slots where we could feed webbing through.
It all felt very stable as I lowered my raft into the water and then paddled happily around. Luckily the leads I will cross will not have the heavy currents of Norwegian Fjords!
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