Newest Amish sport

Training for the 2014 Winter Olympics?

Looks like this video was recorded in Knox County, Ohio (one county southwest of Holmes County).

No SMV triangle, lights or storm front on this buggy.

He even gets in a bit of a slalom at the end:

Skiing is in fact popular with some Amish (primarily, but not only, youth), as is snowboarding.  Lancaster County lies not too far from the Poconos and other mountain ranges.

I only rarely go skiing, despite living in a pretty cold climate and having slopes just a half-hour’s drive away.  I find my feet are usually too large for whatever rental boots they have on hand.  Ouch.

My one snowboarding trip resulted in three sessions with a physical therapist.  Only then was I able to raise my arms above my head again.  Could have been worse.

But I would try buggy skiing in a heartbeat.

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    28 Comments

    1. Lance

      I snow skiing a LOT when I was in high school. Fortunately, I did not break any limbs, just cracked my thumb twice in one winter. If I ski again, I would like to do it in Colorado.

    2. Tim Thompson

      This is awesome and creative.

    3. Alice Aber

      Looks like fun but count me out, LOL. That would be so hard on my body especially if I fell,,, which I probably would, LOL.

      It was neat watching it though, I imagine they have a lot of fun with things like this.

      Blessings, Alice

    4. How FUN!! I’d do it in a heartbeat. I can say that with confidence because it looks flat and I can scream if they go too fast. HA HA

    5. Karen Pollard

      I have to laugh at the thought of you doing this behind a buggy! It would be your luck to crash into a mailbox or utility pole!!

    6. Karen for me that’s probably not a bad prediction, or a fence, or a ditch, or…

    7. Christina

      Too funny! I was on the edge of my seat thinking he was going to run into the sign…LOL!

    8. Carolyn Kirk
    9. Richard

      never mind about that skiing stuff, get that kid over my house so he can shovel my driveway, he could even do the shoveling with skies on, i don’t care . im hurting over here man. i just got in from being outside, all i can say is ” why didn’t i buy a bigger shovel”. but i took my time so it wasn’t really that bad, i think we recieved like 4 inches maybe so far. how did you fair alice over your way. i heard on fox news today alice that your home state of Illinois is getting a 66% tax increase (ouch). i know some states are worse than others as far as their budget deficits are concerned, but this over spending has got to stop, i think California is the worst.i didn’t mean to get political folks, i still have some news fresh in my mind after watching alittle. Erik are you still in Poland?, and where is your next stop in your travels. will you be writing another book pertaining to the amish, im just wondering. ………………..Richard, lebanon,pa

    10. Aye aye Richard, you’re not the only one that could use some snow shovel muscle I bet!

      I am actually in Poland right now, but we have been having a bit of a snow melt the past couple of days. There’s a decent chance I will be back in US next month. And hey I think it’s fair to say not many of us would enjoy a tax hike! It’s interesting to look at the taxation levels between different states. Pretty big in some cases.

      And actually, I do have another book on the Amish in the works–in fact I was supposed to be working on it right now, but got distracted by putting together tomorrow’s post 😉

      But, this new book has been a blast to write. Hopefully it will be as much fun to read. Will have more info soon… 🙂

    11. Kate

      I’ve seen this done a few times except they had a horse/sleigh to pull it. It’s so funny to watch! I’ve never done it though 🙂

    12. Richard

      sounds good erik, please keep everyone posted as im sure you will be doing. from a business stand point atleast, this blog is a great idea, and im sure your not doing it just for that. you seem to enjoy it, and i enjoy reading and commenting on some of your topics.even though theres a good amount of books out there about the amish, there always seems to be room for a really good book to come along to read. and the amish as a topic seems endless, so im sure you will be writing about them maybe on and off for years to come, and thats not a bad thing………. richard, lebanon,pa

    13. Thanks Richard, yes I definitely enjoy this blog, I hope that much shows! And especially the back-and-forth and interesting comments and hearing little slices of life from around the country (and world). Very cool.

      I think people will find a lot of interesting info they hadn’t heard before in my new book–in fact I have learned a lot myself writing it. Which must be a good sign 🙂 I’m actually pretty excited to at least share the title (and more), but it will be a week or two yet…

      Kate the sleigh setup seems like it would be easier. I don’t know how far these buggy guys skied, I guess they had to keep on making right turns 😉

    14. Alice Aber

      Richard, I had not heard that high for the state income tax. I did hear 75% increase on the federal is what congress wants to pass.

      All total it looks like about 5 inches of snow here Richard, maybe 5 1/2. I still have not gotten out to shovel again. My new pain killers for the fibromyalgia pain are doing a really good job,,,, of putting me to sleep, LOL. I have napped and slept most of the day. But I guess I need the sleep too.

      Speaking of naps, think I am about to go head for another one. The meds are strong,,, but helping. 🙂

      Blessings, Alice

    15. Richard

      thought id pop back on before i went off for the day. if im correct Erik, you have already stayed with an amish family for a few days, i also had the opportunity to do that myself and i learned from that experience. i remember i was starting to take a shower in Ohio at a amish families home that i was interested in buying some hickory products, if it weren’t for me trying to sell amish crafts in Florida, i wouldn’t have had a chance most likely in staying with the amish like i did. let me get back to that shower story, anyway as i was washing my hair with soap suds all over my face, the water stopped running.i waited a min or so, then i called from behind the bathroom door ” hey the water shut-off”. then i heard ” must be the pump outside”. i tried to dry myself as best i could, and i still had soap on my hair, so i got dressed and put on a coat(it was nov in Ohio) and went outside with my amish host. we went out to the field where the well was, i remember it being a good amount of land because glenns dad raised horses, and his folks lived on the property as well. long story short, the Honda motor that was powering the well water ran out of gas, but its the little things like that,that made me remember i was staying with people who were pretty different from me, yet exactly the same in some other ways. to be politically correct, let me first say that no animals were hurt during the making of my story. ill save my next story about watching paint dry,lol……………………….. good night folks…… Richard from snowy penn

    16. Marcus Yoder

      I can remember playing fox and geese in the snow. You make paths in the snow and make some areas for safe areas, and basicaly play tag. When growing up with 11 brother’s and sister’s without tv or video games you use your imagination. I would have tried something like this if we would have had skis. I grew up Mennonite without tv. Marcus Yoder London,Ohio

    17. Marilyn in New York

      In High School a friend of mine and I went skiing and I spent more time on my fanny than I did skiing. I quit skiing. She and her husband were great skiers, but they live in Pennsylvania. Once she had her knee replaced the doctor told her no more skiing. I loved seeing that Amish buggy and skier. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. Good thingd the skier didn’t hit something.
      Marilyn

    18. Slightly-handled-Order-man

      As a Canadian I firmly believe and find that the winter causes people to do zany things regardless of their faith or background. The other day a short news broadcaster (he is a little man) demonstrated a three in one shovel, it should have been four in one, in my opinion, shovel, ice scrapper, warning pylon and snow slider just for fun.
      The Amish people in the video must have done it before, eh, it does kind of look like fun if you where up to it.

    19. Jory

      The skiing looks like fun (especially with the sound of horse hoofs), however at my age, cross country would be my speed. On the other hand, I’d rather ski with a horse & buggy pulling me than down hill in my city, where the ski hill is beautiful but used as a skiing race track.

      Alice, I hope you find some relief soon from your fibromyalgia. I’ll pray for you for a complete & lasting remission. I’ve suffered in the past from a nerve disorder, and the meds which helped to relieve the pain pretty much were disabing physically (like a walking dead woman). Take care, I feel for you.

    20. Bob Rosier

      The skiing is so cool ! I have taken a lot of pictures of Amish farms and countryside around Lancaster County, PA. I thought I would share so I placed on Shutterfly.
      Go to http://www.Shutterfly.com
      Near the top, click on: Sign in
      Then for Email: k4oce@gvtc.com
      Password: kn2cbb

      You can do a slide show. I hope you enjoy. Bob

    21. Thanks for sharing this Bob, will check them out.

      Shom we need a picture of that odd device.

      Richard good shower story, and yes I usually stay with Amish friends when in PA and OH. My longest stay was 2 months, I’ve got good friends that were able to put up with me for so long 😉

      Marcus you had a baseball team there growing up–or 2 hockey teams!

    22. I have done that both on skies and sitting on a small children’s sled after a snowmobile. It is dead fun! It is called “tolka” in Swedish, does it have an English word?

    23. karen fischer

      Our family was amish and lived in the amish commmunity in illinois, till we left the amish in 2008. My oldest sons favorite activity at recess at his school was the boys would hook up a sled behind one of the driving ponies and one boy would ride the pony at a fast trot or faster while the boys rode on the sled behind hanging on to a rope attached to the horse, being pulled thru the snow covered fields. The mission was to make enough turns to tip the sled. Then start over with the next group:)

    24. Bob Rosier

      Karen, that sure sounds like a lot of fun. I think we had more fun by inventing our own things to do when I was a kid (long time ago). Kids today seem to have so many store bought gadgets, and wanting new things every day, but I know they are not having any more fun than we did with the simplier things in life.

      It’s hard to beat a plain old sled heading down over a long hill, or pulled by a pony even better.

    25. Slightly-handled-Order-man

      Well, if you do a google image search for “Garant SnowFlex” you’ll find two images at the top of the search, a picture of a yellow thing that kind of looks like a curved Caution Wet Floor sign. That is what I saw on TV.

    26. Marcus Yoder

      Hi Erik. There were 9 boy’s and 3 girl’s. Dad alway’s said he had a baseball team and 3 cheerleader’s. Marcus Yoder London,Ohio

    27. Shom, I just checked it out. Now I have to get a Garant Snowflex. Awesome.

      Marcus, your dad called it 🙂

      Karen, sounds like boys will be boys!

    28. Elin I know maybe 2 words of Swedish, but the word “tolka” just seems to fit, for some reason. I do not know if there is an English term?