Going Polar? Do The Pulka.

If you read our articles on the training for our Centenary Race to the South Pole or the upcoming Polar Challenge, you’ll notice that we talk about learning how to handle a ‘pulk’.

A pulk is a small sledge designed with a low centre of gravity to hold supplies and be easy to pull across the snow. There is some debate about where the word originates, with some authorities suggesting it has its roots in the Norwegian Lapland ‘pulkha’ for sledge while others plump for the Sami word ‘bulke’. What is clear is that its physical origins are in the Arctic regions of Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

Pulks Are Spreading

The pulk’s simple design and its suitability for being pulled by a skier have seen it adapted for almost all snow-covered landscapes. They’re even used by Alpine rescue teams, as I know to my cost. A few years ago, I damaged my knee in a skiing accident. I was strapped into a pulk and brought down the mountain behind a rescue skier. The pulk’s rigid construction – which makes it so easy to pull – combined with the icy conditions and the speed of the descent, meant that I felt every bump and actually broke two ribs before we reached the bottom. That certainly took my mind off the pain in my knee. Our race competitors will not be riding in their pulks!

The main benefit of the pulk, of course, is that it takes what you need to carry off your back. Where early Polar explorers tried to adapt small life boats from their expedition ships to use as sledges across the ice and snow, later more successful teams began to copy the techniques used by peoples living in the more extreme conditions. Pulks soon became a key component of any expedition to either North or South Pole.

Build Your Own Pulk

Modern pulks use a plastic base, which helps keep down the weight, as well as making them fairly cheap to build. Many explorers and people living in places with suitable winter conditions build their own. If you feel like having a go at building your own pulk, visit SkiPulk and download Ed Bouffard’s pdf pulk book, which tells you everything you need to know about what goes into building a successful pulk.