When selecting a craft, sledding purists such as myself are guided by a time-honored principle: less control equals more fun. Thus our predilection for saucers, toboggans, and other wood and plastic artifacts from mountain sports鈥 pre-helmet era.
Today鈥檚 contraptions have too many moving parts, high-tech materials, and cumbersome safety features. I recently 颅encountered a sled that was designed to be ridden on one鈥檚 knees in order to facilitate halfpipe-style tricks. No, thanks.
But I am willing to make one sop to modernity, in the form of 鈥攁n elegant, high-performance 颅machine capable of frighteningly fast descents. Polycarbonate skis make pinpoint turns easy, and a four-foot-long aluminum frame with tensioned webbing allow proper position for a steerable sled: belly down, headfirst, with a POV like Mario Kart. Included in the instructions is the cautionary 鈥淣ot a toy.鈥
Maybe, but the XLD is built for fun. I like to hike up my local ski hill at dawn, before the chairlifts open, then bomb down the freshly groomed runs at 40 miles per hour, carving wide arcs and, if I must, braking by dragging the toes of my boots in the snow. Skidding to a stop in front of the lift line, I 颅usually get blank stares and the occasional 鈥淪ickbird!鈥
Recently, a helicopter mom who鈥檇 been busy triple-checking her eight-year-old鈥檚 mitten leashes raised her head long enough to shoot me a disapproving glare. The kid stared at me like I was Batman. 鈥淒on鈥檛 worry,鈥 I said as I stood up. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l be old enough soon.鈥 ($349)