Shortly after skiing, it was time for another winter sport. In my opinion, it is completely unfairly ignored by the International Olympic Committee, and it definitely deserves its own discipline… sledding! This time we went for a sleigh ride to my dad’s hometown – Pienice. The plan was simple: snow, sleds, cold, and good fun. So a bit of family atmosphere, a bit of winter madness, and of course everything under full control. At least that’s what I thought before leaving.
Before the actual sports-extreme-logistic part began, together with Iza I decided to visit Krasnosielc and inspect the progress in finishing my little sister’s house. There was looking, evaluating, commenting, and of course classic family analyzing of everything that could possibly be seen. You drop by for a moment to see the house, and after fifteen minutes you already have your own vision of the layout of electrical outlets, wall colors, and probably the entire plumbing system.
After the construction-inspection part ended, the standard point of the program followed… total madness. In the best sense of the word, of course. Meaning a family gathering, laughter, fooling around, and the general level of seriousness steadily dropping as time went by.
Scientific snow tests
But before the actual sleigh ride in Pienice hit the road, professional safety tests had to be conducted. A large pile of snow was waiting in the yard, which we immediately qualified as an official training facility. So we started intensive research on the behavior of the sleds (professionally made of hay-filled sacks), glide, aerodynamics, traction, and human resistance to direct contact with a snowdrift.
My scientific research showed that:
You can slide down a hill much faster than originally assumed.
We don’t always fly where we want to.
Snow can find its way into every piece of clothing.
An adult on a snowy hill immediately mentally returns to the age of about eight.
Braking with your feet only works in theory and usually when it’s already too late.
Winter sleigh ride in Pienice and the reliable URSUS
After these extremely exhausting field studies, it was time for the actual sleigh ride. And here the true star of the entire event appeared – the URSUS tractor. Not some horse. Not a hybrid. Not an EV. No app, charger, or USB cable. A real, Polish URSUS. An engine, wheels, the right amount of mechanical character, and a sound that definitely didn’t let us forget we were in the real countryside. URSUS handled it. Heck! I got the impression it could pull half the village, a few extra sleds, and probably a small summer cottage, but this time it had to settle for us.
The sleigh ride itself was really great. Snow, winter landscapes, sleds, and a group of people ready to sacrifice thermal comfort for a good time – exactly what should be in every guide titled “How to return home wet, frozen, and very happy.”
On the way back, the conditions got a bit more… interesting. At times it was hard to tell where the road ended and the snowfield began. The road was heavily snowed under in places, but both URSUS and we pulled through.
The Premium Horse Package in Kampinos
I liked the whole sleigh ride so much that I practically started planning the next one right after coming back. I hadn’t even managed to properly thaw my fingers, dry my boots, and shake the snow out of places it absolutely shouldn’t be. But I already knew we simply had to repeat it. This time we decided not to venture out so far and chose the vicinity of Granica in the Kampinos Forest. However, it was a completely new sleigh ride quality.
This time, the reliable URSUS was replaced by four horses of the Horse brand.
Classic model.
Drive: four legs a piece.
Fuel: hay.
Fuel consumption: mood-dependent.
Exhaust emissions: practically zero.
Emissions of other byproducts: I’m definitely not going to expand on this topic.
Total power of the setup: hard to determine, but definitely sufficient.
Instead of ordinary sleds and hay sacks, actual sleighs appeared, so the whole setup automatically jumped to a higher level of luxury. You could say I upgraded from the URSUS Economy version to the Premium Horse All-Inclusive package. The ride itself was fantastic. A postcard-perfect winter, Kampinos, snow, horses, and sleighs. The only minor issue was the temperature. It was cold. But not just a regular cold like “I’ll put on a beanie and be fine.” No. It was -22 degrees. The temperature reached a level where I stopped asking myself if I was cold. Instead, I started wondering if my nose still belonged to me.
After the wild horse ride – within the bounds of reason, safety, and the capabilities of frostbitten fingers, of course – it was time for the item on the agenda that has been saving Poles from winter for centuries: a bonfire and sausages! Because a true winter sleigh ride without a bonfire is like a BBQ without sausages, a vacation without photos, or a Polish family without an argument about who should have left earlier. The fire warmed us up, the sausages vanished at breakneck speed, and I slowly regained feeling in my hands and other body parts.
To sum up – I utilized the winter season very professionally.
There was skiing.
There were sleds.
There was URSUS.
There were horses.
It was -22 degrees.
There was snow.
There were sausages.
And of course there was… total madness.
So everything went according to plan. All photographic evidence of these extremely serious events, athletic feats, and winter experiments can be found below.
