The Two-Stroke Chairlift: How Sled-Access Skiing and Snowboarding Works
Riders in Revelstoke call it the two-stroke chairlift. You ride a snowmobile up terrain that would take hours to skin, drop your partner at the top, and swap jobs for the next lap. On a good day you stack more vertical than a week of touring would give you.
Dave Norona has done this for more than 15 years and ski toured for more than 25. The North Vancouver adventure athlete and Ski-Doo ambassador raced cross-country skis across North America and Europe, and he skied from Anchorage to Nome along the Iditarod trail. His approach to mixing sleds and skis is the best starting point we know.
Pick the tool for the day
Norona sleds on the deepest storm days. With a motor under you, you can play in powder on mellow terrain instead of hunting for the steep slopes a skier needs, and that keeps you away from the worst avalanche ground.
After a couple of days, sledders have tracked out the riding zones. That is when he switches to sled skiing: the machine does the uphill and he racks up laps. Once those zones are skied out too, he tours into places a sled can't reach or can't easily get back out of.
How the rotation works
Norona's ideal group is four people.
- Everyone rides to the run. Park any gear you won't need in an island of safety, well out of any avalanche path.
- Leave two sleds at the bottom. The other two sleds double the skiers or riders to the top.
- The two skiers go down together, for safety. The two drivers ride a separate route down and set a clean track to the pickup.
- Swap roles and go again.
With two people, you add one loop. Ride both sleds down, park one, and double back up on the other. Ski down together to the parked sled, ride up, then reset. Norona says the newcomers he takes out can't believe how much fun the ride up is. Expect to work for it, though. Doubling in deep snow is hard work for driver and passenger, and our guide to riding two-up in deep snow covers the technique.
Before your first lap
Learn the machine on your own first. A passenger adds weight and makes countersteering harder. Put in solo days until you can sidehill and pick your way through trees before you add a skier.
Take an avalanche course. Norona's minimum is a Level 1 avalanche course, which you can take in a motorized or a ski and snowboard version. In Canada that means AST 1. Check the Avalanche Canada forecast before you leave the truck.
Watch BCA's Send and Return films. Backcountry Access made two short videos for new sled skiers: one on terrain choice and group management, one on human factors in decision-making. Will Mook and Matt Schebaum of The Mountain Riding Lab star with pro skier Sam Schwartz in Wyoming's Snake River Range. Ski-Doo also runs a Sled Sessions how-to series and offers free avalanche education classes. Good on both of them for putting that out for free.
Bring two sleds. One sled and two skiers puts your whole day one breakdown away from a very long walk out.
Carry your gear properly
The Revelstoke Snowmobile Club warns that bungees are how gear ends up off the trail or in somebody else's sled. Norona says he tried every method before settling on a proper rack.
Our Patrol Rack bolts behind the seat on your tunnel and takes a Ski Holder or Snowboard Holder on each side. Your skis or board ride locked down and out of your passenger's way. Port Tack Racks is a BC company, and the Patrol Rack fits newer sleds and older ones alike. For the rest of the kit, see our sled-ski setup checklist.
Trailhead short: Sea-to-Sky snowboarder Jake Bauer once smashed his own bumper trying to ghost ride his sled. Leave the ghost riding to Jake.
FAQ
How many people do you need to sled ski?
Four is ideal: two drivers and two skiers or riders who swap roles each lap. Two people works too, with one extra loop to reset the sleds.
What avalanche training do I need?
At least a Level 1 course. In Canada that is AST 1, offered in motorized and ski or snowboard versions.
Can I strap skis to my sled with bungees?
Riders do, and they lose gear. Use a rack with proper holders.
Curious where the sport is growing? Read Sled-Access Skiing in the West.
Shop the setup: Patrol Rack · Ski Holder Mount Kit · Snowboard Holder Mount. Buy the Patrol Rack with one holder and save $10, or with two and save $30.
Watch Dave Norona's sled-ski episode
Dave walks through racks, bags, boots, skis and the full lap rotation.
Dave helped design Ski-Doo's LinQ ski and snowboard rack, and it's a well-made piece of kit. It lists at $689.99 CAD per rack on Ski-Doo's Canadian store, carries one pair of skis and poles or two boards, and fits Ski-Doo sleds only. A Patrol Rack with a holder on each side costs less than a single LinQ rack, fits any brand of sled, old or new, and is built simple and tough for seasons of trailhead abuse.