Aleksei Appolon explains the construction of sleds

“This here is the frame (for carrying loads). It consists of eight crossbars. It's assembled entirely without nails – only with drilled holes. There’s not a single nail, just wooden pegs, which prevent the wood from splitting.

This is the Chukchi-Koryak construction type, and in my opinion, it’s ideal. The construction method hasn’t changed in centuries. A frame like this can carry three people, each weighing about 70 kilograms – that’s 210 kilograms in total. It’s supported by hoof-shaped bent wood. It may look like it could break, but because everything is bound with leather straps, the whole structure stays flexible – this gives it great stability. Even the distance between the runners is important for balance – the front must be wider than the back. If it's just five centimeters narrower here, the stability is lost. So we made the front slightly wider than the rear. Every part, every curve has been developed, refined, and tested over centuries.

Nowadays, many people just hack away with an axe, but every curve in the wood has meaning. You don’t use just any tree, because the wood has life lines. The hoof-shaped bent wood, for example, isn’t just for beauty – it also keeps the sled lighter and more flexible. If it were made too rigid, it would break the first time it hit rough ground. Everything is carefully thought out and has a purpose.”

Recorded by Erich Kasten. Ossora, 2006.