Danger is the fun of toboggan run
To catch some thrills -- and spine-tingling spills -- head to the Cresta Run in St. Moritz.
Almost daily from late December to the end of February, riders on metal toboggans fly face first down this historic track that twists and turns for three-quarters of a mile.
The icy run, rebuilt every year since 1885, starts in St. Moritz and plummets 514 feet as it passes through the tiny hamlet of Cresta down to the village of Celerina.
"This is the father of every bob track in the world," said David Payne, secretary of the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club, a private group with about 1,300 members worldwide.
Non-members may ride (see www.cresta-run.com for fees and requirements), but the Cresta Run is off- limits to women. Payne said the men-only rule is a safety precaution. Riders need to be able to throw the heavy toboggan away from them if they wipe out.
My two X chromosomes prevented me from giving it a try. But after several pleading phone calls, I was allowed to sit in the smoky clubhouse last winter while members downed bottles of Coke and cups of coffee and Payne delivered the "death talk" to nine Cresta Run newbies.
Props included a full-size skeleton and X-rays showing metal rods doing the jobs that once belonged to bones. We learned that one unlucky club member was laid up in a hospital after tearing off his foot during a run.
On the Cresta, people ride solo on their stomachs, wearing boots with small rakes on the toes to help them steer and break. One rider's toboggan shot out from under him as he rounded the "shuttlecock" corner. After a few stunned seconds, he staggered to his feet and waved his arms over his head -- a signal that he was OK.
"Blimey, that looked horrific," said Mark Paxman, 29, a Royal Air Force pilot.
"The first time you go, you forget to breathe," he said. "The feeling of speed is incredible."
Payne agreed, saying, "Going 80 mph with your nose two inches off the ice is extremely exciting. It's the best hangover cure known to man."