Amish Guy Goes Buggy Skiing (Video)

It seems like every year around this time we get a video of Amish out having some winter fun.

We’ve previously seen Amish people skiing in Knox County, Ohio, and in Lowville, New York. There was also a clip of a buggy doing parking lot snow donuts.

This short video, shot by Tara Hayward after Christmas dinner, shows an Amishman in Morley, Michigan, getting ski-towed down the road by a buggy.

It looks like he’s clinging to a basic rope (if it were me, I’d try to get some kind of water-ski handle to hang onto, but this guy must be tough).

It was also interesting to see the second buggy riding behind the Amishman. Was that meant to protect the skiier somehow from drivers?




The other thing that you might notice here are the unusual slow-moving vehicle triangles on the buggies.

Rather than the standard orange triangle, you can see a triangle with thick silver tape borders, and a small orange reflector in the middle. This unusual insignia is also seen in Ashland County, Ohio.

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20 Comments

  1. Terry from Wisc

    Guder mariye

    Yes Erik, that has been around in the past but still fun to watch again. Just maybe the skier should have worn a stocking cap instead of his hat! And where’s the windshield in the buggy?
    I read a comment last night from an ex Amish, and his memories of being Amish, and being cold all winter! Seeing what the English wear in frigid temps, and what the Amish wear, there is no comparison! Either they’re tougher, or we’re just soft! Ha!

    Keep the woodbox full and stay warm!

    Safe in Christ, Terry

    1. Yes, we were cold...

      No wind shields, but we did use soap-stones, which i recently bought 2 more on ebay for a total of 3 now, anyway we would cover in a thick blanket and have the stone under there to provide some heat.

      1. Did you ever do any buggy skiing when you were Amish, Joseph?

        1. I had not heard of soapstone but looks like an interesting and useful material:

          https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soapstone

          This site says it has a “high specific heat capacity”:

          https://geology.com/rocks/soapstone.shtml

          1. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Primitive-Vintage-Amish-Foot-Bed-Buggy-or-Carriage-Soap-Stone-Bed-Warmer/192366814468?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

          2. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Primitive-Vintage-Amish-Foot-Bed-Buggy-or-Carriage-Soap-Stone-Bed-Warmer/192366814468?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

            thats one of the ones i bought… and no, i never did any skiing.

            1. More available in case you want to check them out

              https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=soap+stone&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H1.Xsoap+stone+amish.TRS1&_nkw=soap+stone+amish&_sacat=0#

              Buy one and do a review. It could restart a trend…

              1. Thanks for the info Joseph. How common are these among the Amish? Would it be more the plainer groups – if I recall right, you are originally from a plainer group, correct?

                1. Swartzentrubers

                  As I said above, we had no wind screens as some groups now do, so this is most likely for buggies without those, but I use them in my bed when I have a cold or since I have sore back. Thats also why I bought 2 more for backups when one is heating up, I can have another being used.

    2. There may be something to that Terry – if I were Amish I believe I’d opt for that stocking cap in colder weather. You see them a lot in some communities (N. Indiana, Holmes Co) but I think they are not so common in the plainer ones.

      https://amishamerica.com/amish-winter-headwear/

      1. Terry from Wisc

        Hi again from the frozen tundra we call home!

        We see a lot of stocking caps on the Amish men and boys here in Wisc. Sometimes even when it’s kind of warm to be wearing one! All the guys will wear their straw hats in summer, but in winter the men will wear their black hats, or stocking caps as do the boys. For the life of me I can’t seem to remember if I’ve seen younger guys with a black hat on their head…during the week anyway.

        Now I have to ask the ex Amish fellas…Do boys even have a black hat? If there are 10 boys in the family that’d be a bit expensive! Do they pass the hats down the line, like clothes, from one to another?

        A friend wants to go Amishing in the near future, so will do my homework!

        Happy New Year!

  2. KimH

    Skiing

    Haha…. I’d do that in a heartbeat even though I’m getting too old to be doing antics like that!! It looks like loads of fun…lol. I’m a Water-skier so I can’t imagine it’d be too much different… Cept you’re not going as fast as you do on water and you usually don’t have sticks and such to make unknown obstacles. Lol.

    1. Fun, but safe?

      I agree Kim, it does look like fun. Someone in the FB comments raised the issue of safety. I hinted at this in the post above, but something to think about especially with recent discussion on buggy accidents.

      This looks like a back road in a low traffic area…as long as the driver keeps his eyes on the road and the skier stays off it, I think the biggest safety hazard might be distracting car drivers by the odd sight of an Amish skier.

      1. KimH

        Safety

        Well I hate to admit it but safety is usually the last thing many people are thinking about when it comes to having fun. Lol. This us tame compared to some of the stunts my cousin’s, brother and I pulled. Country kids create their own fun most of the time.. and they aren’t closely supervised regarding safety.

  3. Alice Mary

    Wheee...!

    I always feel for the horses (though they seem to be moving at a good head of steam, enough to keep warm/functioning).

    Seeing that second buggy behind the skier, I also figured it was meant to be for safety—it looks like the swirling snow could obstruct the skier enough to make him difficult to see. But if I were driving behind it and started to pass, I’d have been surprised (and verhoodled!) to encounter the skier and the other buggy. But he sure should have been wearing a warmer hat–one not likely to fly off.

    As far as soapstone goes, don’t they use it in Europe (and even here) in wood burning stoves BECAUSE it holds heat so well? It’s also good for carving, as I’ve inherited my Busia’s soapstone carving…I never could figure out what it was…another nik-nak to gather dust, I guess.

    Happy New Year to everyone…let’s hope it’s kind to us all! 🙂

    Alice Mary

    1. Yes, if you search ebay...

      If you search “soap stone amish” it will bring up these stones I was talking about, but they are used for a wide variety of things including carving, and in stones. The one link he posted mentioned they also hold the cold too, as an alternative to ice cubes.

  4. Debbie H

    buggy sking

    That looks like fun. If only I had younger knees. Interesting about the soap stone. I could have used that when I lived on a boat.

    1. Cool, living on a boat

      How long were you on there?

      They have them in wood stoves as well as fireplaces, as they hold the heat hours after the fire has gone down… You could use one to heat yourself in bed, with a towel wrapped around it to protect yourself.

  5. jb

    safety shmafety

    I think someone could call it a safety issue although danger doesn’t seem imminent. Is it legal for a car to tow someone with skis on a public street? I doubt so. But in less populated areas or during a crazy blizzard someone just might attempt it. After the other safety issue written here I asked myself why they didn’t plow some tracks on their private land but I guess horses might have trouble in deep snow. Atleast fun isn’t totally illegal in this world.