Love of winter

Passion leads to career

BY SARAH COLBURN STAFF WRITER

For Grant and Ashley Schnell, winter is all about the calm, the sense of quiet that comes with a fresh mantle of snow, the crunch as icy crystals break under foot and the bright white that freshens the woods.

“The snow just makes everything new,” Ashley said.

She and Grant work to provide innovative ways for people to enjoy winter outdoors. They hand-craft custom ski pulks for hardcore winter enthusiasts and those new to winter recreation alike.

The pulks, sleds designed for pulling gear, are customized with fins, poles and harnesses for each user, and many of the customized pieces are crafted in central Minnesota. Their customers range from families pulling bundled kids on cross-country ski trails to those trekking the Arctic Circle.

For the couple, the love of the outdoors first sparked their involvement in the SkiPulk company when they were in college. In 2011, when the previous owner retired, they bought the business from him. Today, they enjoy winter sports and outings with their children

Laney, 5, and Auria, 8.

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They participate in everything from winter camping to skiing and snowshoeing. Occasionally, they can be found winter camping in their own backyard. Their newly acquired ICE BOX igloo maker company helps them make igloos when they are not using a tent. For their children, daily activities outside are a way of life.

“It’s exciting for them to explore all the things covered in snow,” Ashley said.

The Schnells said beginners should start with small outings. A good base layer and a good pair of socks are the key to creating comfort in the outdoors for kids and adults alike. Grant recommends families begin with small expectations in the beginning and work their way up to more complex or longer activities.

“Don’t plan on going 7 miles in one day; a simple 20-minute walk might be plenty,” he said.

The Schnells spent time at the Mississippi River County Park when their children were young.

They pulled ski pulks behind bikes, cross-country skis and snowshoes.

Before children, the Schnells did not let weather stop them. They went winter camping in the Chippewa National Forest, skiing into their site and staying for a few nights, returning to their car to shovel to get back on the road. They have also done winter camping in the Boundary Waters.

Their customers have traveled from the North Pole to the South Pole and the Ungava Peninsula in Canada.

Ashley said the adventure is whatever people can dream up.

“It’s fun to be able to provide these products for people to get outside,” she said. “It’s fun to see the things they get out and do with the products we provide to them.”

The Schnells sell to not only enthusiasts and families but also people out for a weekend trip with friends.

Ashley said some may bring a wood stove and other heavy equipment that becomes cumbersome in a pack.

“It provides new opportunities that people maybe didn’t know were out there,” she said. “They’re able to do some of the things they weren’t able to do before.”

In the last two years, the business has taken a major turn.

Ashley works from home and runs 90% of the ski pulk business. She also began the igloo tool business as well. Prior to this year, the couple both worked full time out of the house and built pulks at home in their shop until midnight.

Pulks are designed with harnesses depending on the user. They can be equipped with fins for tracking as well as covers and duffle bags. The base pulks come into the shop, and the Schnells attach the hardware so people can pull them. Once customized, the end product is shipped across the lower 48 states as well as around the world. The snow clipper and the clipper XL are designed by SkiPulk and manufactured in Little Falls. The fiberglass expedition sled is manufactured in Melrose and customized in the shop. Sewing is handled by a company in Grey Eagle.

The pulks are optimized when heavier items are placed low to the ground and other gear surrounds them. When creating their unique designs, the Schnells said they listened to feedback from customers and designed sleds that are not much wider than foot tracks and some with runners the same width as groomed cross-country ski trails for ease of use.

Winter page 4

Winter from page 3 the Schnells works to customize their pulks and ship within four to five days from the time of the order.

Their customers use the pulks to pull everything from extra clothing and insulated sleeping pads to camp stoves and children for a backcountry fishing trip or a snowshoe adventure to a wooded cabin. The Schnells said others have used the sleds in early spring for collecting maple syrup as well as for fur hunting. The Schnells said the pulks are also used by mountaineers hauling gear to base camp and by those snow-kiting. They have even had customers who are ultra-marathoners who go on foot, ski and bike during self-supported races. The pulks have been used in expeditions to Northern Canada as well as by a customer crossing Antarctica on a bike.

During the summer, the couple focuses on stockpiling things like pole sets – the most labor-intensive piece of their work. They glue the ends on the poles, drill and pin them for added strength, and attach eye bolts or ball joints on the ends that attach to the sled and harness.

Their website also has a guide for do-ityourself customers designing their own, custom-made pulks.

Grant said much of their business travels through word of mouth in circles of people who have an interest in winter activities. He said the community is welcoming and willing to assist others with recommendations on gear and adventures.

The Schnells do not tire of the changing seasons; they adjust their activities to keep their friends and family outside.

“The snow is always welcome here,” Grant said.