The SnowWalker

January 17, 2008
Toklat temperatures since midnight:
Max, 28 degrees F
Min, 1 F
Denali Education Center temperature at the Riverside Office at 4pm:
10 F

A sled in a box. It arrived just in time-- today! Willie will use this sled to pull some of his gear as he ski's in The Park.

As Christine said this is my sled of choice for the trip. Last winter i was having dinner at the local wonderful restaurant 229 Parks and friend Mark let me borrow a great book, "Snow Walkers Companion" by Garrett and Alexandra Conover. This book told the story of living, working and embracing outdoor life in winter. One of the sleds they recommend is the SnowWalker which is made by Chris Evavold of Black River Sleds, info@blackriversleds.com .

I asked Chris a few questions to get a better feel for the sleds and how they came to be and how he makes them.

How did you come up with the design? "The inspiration for the design originally came from the Conover's book. I then created a sled with a more traditional design with lines more akin to toboggans from 100 or more years ago. The SnowWalker toboggan has a more traditional hood design to ride up on snow better. It also incorporates copper nails to rivet the crosspieces to the toboggan. Copper nails have a long history as a fastener in boatbuilding and elsewhere."


What is it made out of? "My toboggans are made of HDPE or high density polyethylene. It is a common plastic represented by a #1 on the recycling triangles. Same as bottle plastic. I use 1/4" HDPE with a black pigment for looks and more Ultra Violet light resistance."

How long does it take you to make one sled? "Takes me about 3 or four hours to put a toboggan together. I try to maximize my time though by building at least a couple at a time so I use tools more efficiently."

What is the best way for me to open the webbing up to add the canvas tarp? "Undo the webbing all the way back to where it is anchored, lay your tarp down over the toboggan, lay your duffels in place, wrap up your duffels, zig-zag the webbing back over your load and tighten down."

i have done a lot of hauling over the years. Can't wait to put this to the test.