Jake Sutherland, of Bend, launches on his Trikke Skki in the terrain park at Hoodoo Mountain Resort last week.

HOODOO —

On a sleepless night three years ago, Darrick Bruyn was watching television at about 2 a.m. An infomercial came on for a human-powered, three-wheeled scooter called the “Trikke,” and Bruyn was enthralled enough to go buy one.

Within a year, he had lost 50 pounds after riding his Trikke back and forth to work every day.

Now Bruyn (pronounced “bruin”), who lives in Redmond, is a Central Oregon dealer for Trikke (pronounced “trike”) and Trikke Skki. The Skki is the latest variation of the Trikke, which features a three-point cambering system, allowing the rider to carve turns.

While the Trikke Skki does not provide the same workout as the wheeled Trikke, it does offer a unique, low-body-impact approach to shredding the slopes. And often a couple runs is all it takes to become a Trikke Skki expert.

Hoodoo Mountain Resort near Sisters is the only ski area in Oregon that rents the Trikke Skki, according to Bruyn, but he hopes to get other resorts on board. Hoodoo, which began renting the Trikke Skki just this season, has four in its demo fleet and rents about one per day, according to Hoodoo general manager Matthew McFarland.

“They’re not going like hot cakes, but the people that ride them love them,” McFarland said. “Some people say they don’t want to admit they like them more than snowboarding or skiing.”

On a sunny, powdery day at Hoodoo last week, I was among a half-dozen or so skiers and snowboarders, many of them Bruyn’s friends, who tried the Trikke Skki.

After a brief tutorial from Bruyn, I wondered, “How the heck do I get on and off the chairlift?”

On the lift, riders let the handlebars rest on their thighs, the Trikke — which weighs about 30 pounds — hanging below. Getting off the lift, riders step onto the Trikke’s footholds just before arriving at the unload area.

After an easy run, I felt more confident. I simply turned the handlebars to turn the front ski, then carved the back skis by pressing hard with my downhill leg.

“You initiate with the first ski and follow up with your legs,” said Bruyn, who added that he had not skied for nearly 30 years when he first rode the Trikke Skki. “But it’s just as easy as turning the handlebars.”

On the steeper slopes at Hoodoo, I had to lean much harder to carve without feeling out of control. But the Trikke seems to keep you aboard, at least on groomed runs.

On gentler slopes I really got a rhythm going, pumping back and forth like I was on a stair-stepper to connect my turns.

“I like that it’s really easy, and once you get it, you’ve got it,” said Jordan Bruyn, Darrick’s 11-year-old daughter and one of those in the group of Trikke Skki riders. “You just want to keep going.”

Riding powder is a bit of a challenge on the Trikke Skki.

Hoodoo offered about 6 inches of fresh snow on the day of my visit, and while my snowboard called to me, I wanted to see how the Trikke Skki handled in the deep stuff.

The challenge was finding that perfect balance between not leaning too far back and not digging the front ski into the snow. The former leads to a fall on the rider’s rear end, and the latter can send the rider flying over the handlebars.

I fell both ways. But the falls are mellow, because the rider’s feet are not bound to anything, as they are with skiing and snowboarding, and the rider can jump away from the Trikke when he or she falls. A leash attached from the handlebars to the rider’s wrist keeps the Trikke from sliding away down the mountainside.

On the backside of Hoodoo, near the Hodag chairlift, we flew over wind lips and crashed into piles of powder.

“It’s definitely more of a hard-pack rider,” said Darrin Reynolds, of Bend, who was riding the Trikke Skki for the third time. “It’s a little more work in the powder. On powder days, I definitely want my snowboard still.”

But the Trikke Skki could find a niche among folks with sports injuries or disabilities who are looking for a less-jarring way to ride the slopes. With a five- to 15-minute learning curve, according to Bruyn, beginners who have never skied or snowboarded can pick up a new winter sport quickly.

“I think it’s a great instrument to learn how to ski, and it’s more stable on the snow,” said Bend’s Kevin Bryant, who was trying the Trikke Skki for the first time last week. “And for people looking for lower impact to still have a fun day on the slopes. You’re definitely active, too. You’re still getting a good workout, but it’s not as intense as skiing or snowboarding.”

Bruyn cautioned that the Trikke Skki is not made for terrain parks or for launching off big jumps, but he notes that sometimes “it’s hard to resist.”

Bruyn and Jake Sutherland, of Bend, were pushing the limits a bit, catching some air in the small terrain park last week at Hoodoo.

“It seems like you could just launch it,” Sutherland said. “You can almost push it to crash, and it won’t crash.”

And if you do crash, it’s usually a soft landing.

“Everybody that fell today,” said Jordan Bruyn, “got right back up and laughed.”

The Trikke Skki, at a glance

The Trikke Skki features a patented three-point cambering system that provides control and stability for the rider:

• The front ski is controlled by the handlebars, and the rider — standing on platforms raised a few inches above the back skis — leans on the back skis to carve turns.

• Ski or snowboard boots or bindings are not necessary, and riders are not bound to the Trikke.

• The Skki is the latest addition to the range of wheel Trikke models, all based on the three-point cambering system.

• The Trikke Skki retails for about $900, and Hoodoo rents them for $30 per day.

• Contact: Darrick Bruyn at 541-419-3269, carving3@gmail.com, or myspace.com/centraloregontrikke.

SOURCE: www.trikkeskki.com