Ski Pod

For Mike's birthday, I got myself a great new contraption (wait, did I just type that out loud?). What I meant to type is - I got Mike a great new contraption. It's a baby carrier that can be converted to be used for jogging, strolling, biking, skiing, and hiking! It's made by Chariot Carriers - some very clever Canadians whose creativity is not stifled by a litigious culture. We got the Cougar 1 model - Cougar Chariot. (I picked the red one in the hope that it would be faster.) This weekend we went to Bear Valley to try out it's cross country skiing capabilities.

On our first day of skiing, we played it safe and skied on some roads around Bear Valley that had been used by snowmobiles. Here we are setting out on the maiden voyage. Sancho likes to begin each trip by attempting to bite our skis. After about twenty pokes in the ribs with the tip of your ski pole, he'll sometimes stop.



Here I am later in the day (after I'd limbered up) demonstrating a very complicated and little known ski technique called the "snow crab" maneuver. Don't try this unsupervised.


"Oh mom, please. This is not what I'd consider spectacular natural scenery."

On the second day, we picked a forest road and did a little backcountry skiing.



Here are Mike and Sarah getting some speed. Note: Sancho is still trying to bite Mike's skis. This must have been right before poke eighteen to the ribs.



So, what did we think about the new chariot? In the skiing configuration (we haven't tried the other modes, yet), it is absolutely outstanding! It was easy to pull. Pulling seemed a bit more natural and comfortable than having a baby on your back in a pack. After an hour and a half, I wasn't tired at all. Sarah was kept warm, fairly safe, and the suspension kept her from getting knocked around. On the downhills, it was a blast! The extra push from her weight added just a bit more speed. The only thing that we found lacking was some sort of safety strap or brake to stop the trailer when the waist belt is removed. We'd really hate to have her go solo down a hill. Overall, this is turning out to be the best birthday gift Mike ever got, but here's the only endorsement that we need:


"I love the pod!"