Wondering how to incorporate your baby into your cross-country skiing? For the tiniest kids, a front-pack or Moby wrap zipped half way under your own jacket is a great solution - warm, safe, and keeps your center of gravity over your feet. But once your child gets too big or too squirmy for those, you'll probably need something else. I think that while frame packs are great for snow shoeing, they are not a good choice for cross-country skiing because of the greater speed and increased chance of falling. Thus, you'll want to pull them along behind you for safety and comfort.

For this, my husband and I figured out an inexpensive and simple alternative to the glorious (and out of our current price range) "pulks" out there. (Many of the best brands of bike "chariots" for tots, like Chariot, offer ski conversion kits - you can see some fun photos of folks using Chariot brand pulks as ski sleds on the Chariot website.) We call it the "Super Sled." Here's how you can make your own. This sled design is adapted from the cargo sled design in Allen and Mike's Really Cool Backcountry Ski Book. An excellent resource!

Tools

• Power drill


• Lighter


• Old sandpaper

Materials to buy

• One sturdy plastic sled, preferably about 4 feet long (typically $12 - $20 at a hardware store)


• Two PVC poles, 1.5" diameter, 5 feet long (a dollar or two each)


• Roughly 30 feet of thick synthetic cord. It is usually called "P", or parachute, cord. (Cost varies greatly. Shouldn't exceed $10)

Materials to find around the house

• Something sturdy, insulating, and that folds in half (we use an old Crazy Creek camping chair)


• Large belt that will fit over all your winter clothing, around your waist


• Smaller belt that will be used to make a seat belt in the sled


• Double wide milk crate, high quality small laundry basket, or other sturdy and non-metal structure that your child will fit in

From here, it is simple to make yourself a sled that allows you to pull your child behind you comfortably and safely. Here's the concept, which you'll need to adapt as you go for your own kid, materials, and situation.

1. Center your milk crate on the sled, and drill four holes in the rim of the sled that line up cleanly with the corners of the crate


2. Use some of your cord to firmly tie the crate into place. Every time you use the cord, lightly singe the edges with the lighter (before you tie it to the sled) to prevent fraying)


3. Place your insulating chair into the crate, and affix it to the base of the crate with more cord as needed.


4. Attach safety belt into crate, as low as possible. You don't want your slumping child to feel tangled up!


5. Drill two holes in the front of the sled to attach poles. They should be about a foot apart and perhaps 8 to 10 inches from the front. See photo to clarify.


6. Sand these holes gently on both sides so that they don't have rough or sharp edges


7. Run cord through your two poles, and tie ends to the sled through your new holes, allowing ample cord to come out the other side (where you will stand and pull).


8. Affix the cord to the sides of your bigger belt, preferably in a way that is very tight to the belt, so that the poles attach on the edges of each of your hips. We used an old hip belt for an external frame pack, which is ideal. Other kinds of belts could work, too.


9. Flip the belt 180 degrees, so that the poles cross into an X. Tie a little scrap of cord around the center.


10. Stick your child in the crate and go for a short test drive.

This is age-appropriate for a baby that is very comfortable sitting up on their own (probably a threshold of six to twelve months, depending on the child). It is not appropriate for a smaller kid - they'll get very uncomfortable and you could strain their muscles.

Test drive your sled multiple times before using it on a real outing. We took ours for two separate ten-minute runs on skis, made some changes, and then a leisurely thirty-minute walk through the unplowed neighborhood early one morning. After that we started doing real trips of about an hour to an hour and a half. Know your child's limits, both for sitting still and for keeping warm.


Note the crossed poles and attachment positions.

The crazy creek chair provides your baby with both basic insulation and a headrest. But without any sort of guard from the wind, your baby will need to be very well dressed. When it is particularly cold, we dress our child in his full long underwear, sweater, warm pants, hat, two pairs of boots, snow suit, and then we place him in a child's sleeping bag. All in the crate, all with the seat belt around him. Remember - when you cross-country ski, you get hot because you are exercising. Your child, on the other hand, is sitting still and exposed to the wind. Be careful! Don't let the little sledder get miserable!