Last Saturday I had the opportunity to engage in a favourite Finnish winter sport – sledding down snowy hill or pulkkamäki in Finnish. It’s most likely the pre-requisite sport to snow boarding cos’ if you haven’t played this when you were a child, it’s unlikely that you’re gonna be the snow boarding champion in the future But seriously, almost every Finnish child would have played this one time or another during their childhood; it’s that popular!

I’m not a fan of speed and height so this game is hardly my cup of tea. Nevertheless, as the saying goes, when in Rome, be like the Romans … so I gave it the benefit of a doubt and joined my jolly good friends on their Saturday adventure. Pulkkamäki is usually played by kids but Blue Eyes has made it an annual winter activity for himself and friends. It usually begins with brunch at his place and after some amount of alcohol, they would proceed to a nearby hill for the game.

Initially I was a bit wary of having too much drinks before the game, but I eventually found out that the alcohol element was quite important as it gave me the courage to take the plunge and sled down the hill.  The guys were kind enough to start off with an easy slope ie. one that is wide, without trees and not very steep. I went down couple of times to get familiar. The idea is pretty simple. Sit down on the sled and let gravity do the work. To change direction (if needed), just use whichever side of the hand that you want the sled to turn. Simple as that. Or so it seems.

The guys soon went ahead to the ‘challenge’ of the day; the other side of the slope that has many trees around and much steeper than the earlier one. I looked down with much apprehension. Part of me suggested that perhaps I’ve had enough for the day. The mischievous me wanted to experience the slope. The guys had a few rounds and finally said that they’re wrapping it up with the final sled so it was my last chance to jump or not. I decided to jump … or sled down.

I got stuck three times. The second time, when I attempted to continue with my journey, the round sled turned and I went head down first! It’s obviously very dangerous as my head could hit a tree in front without knowing but I didn’t know how to turn myself around. Fortunately I didn’t hit any tree (thank God!) and I arrived down the hill safe and sound

I’m not sure if I’ve overcome my fear and want to try out other hills for pulkkamäki but this experience has been ‘wild’ indeed in my books. I survived!

So here is a short clip of my adventure:Pulkkamaki