Seattle and Eastside Singles Meetup Event
Skeleton Sledding Down the Olympic Track, Whistler, BC
Part I - The Announcement (posted in January, 2011)
Summary
What is this?
We will be taking the "Skeleton Sport Experience" at the Whistler Sliding Center. This activity will be on the bobsled/luge/skeleton track built for the 2010 Olympic Games which happens to be the fastest ice track in the world. The four hour long experience will include an introduction to the sport, ride instructions and ride safety training, and two runs starting at the mid-point of the track. Speeds of up to 60 miles per hour can be achieved. The cost is about $145 CAN.
Here is what the Whistler track looks like with a helmet cam on a skeleton slider (this is the last section of the course):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snMCJa6nYCk&feature=related
Here is a link to the course map:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Whistler_Sliding_Centre-track_map_english.svg
Here is the description from whistler.com: "Utilizing the “Maple Leaf Start” — a starting position that’s located lower on the track than the starting position used by experienced skeleton athletes — the recreational skeleton experience at the Whistler Sliding Centre will involve an adrenaline-pumping, super-fast solo ride that will last about 30 seconds. It is estimated that speeds reached during the ride will be approximately between 80 and 100 km per hour."
When will it take place?
March 12, 2011 - Saturday, at 2:30 pm.
Isn't this crazy?
There is "crazy" and there is "CRAZY". "CRAZY" is highly correlated with body bags, missing persons reports, emergency rooms, first responders, etc. "CRAZY" activities include going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, flying over the English Channel with a jet engine mounted on your back, crossing the Atlantic Ocean in an seven foot long sailboat, and joining the French Foreign Legion. "crazy", on the other hand, characterizes activities that appear to be "loco" to most folks but which are relatively safe if one is careful and has the appropriate training. Such activities include skydiving, bungee jumping, and running with the bulls in Pamplona. These activities are classified "crazy" until the body count starts to increase at which time they become "CRAZY". Going down the Olympic track on a skeleton sled at 60 mph is "crazy". However, keep in mind that this activity has just opened to non-athlete participants so time will tell whether it is "crazy" or "CRAZY". You are warned, and you participate at your own risk.
If you are still interested in this activity please continue reading.
The Sliding Center will be offering this program from late February to March 20 when the sledding season ends. The class will be held on Wednesday through Sunday. The Sliding Center will allow up to 20 participants per session.
There are some physical requirements for participating in this activity. You cannot be taller than 6 feet 5 inches. Your weight must be no more than 220 pounds. You must sufficiently fit to walk up a steep hill and to climb a three foot high wall. There might be other requirements.
I have gone down the lower half of the track in Calgary twice on a luge at a speed of 30 mph, which seemed slow, and once on a bobsled starting at the top of the track and going over 60 mph which seemed fast. I can't wait to go down the Whistler track on a skeleton sled.
Please feel free to send me questions and comments.
George Liu
Part II - The Event (posted on March 14, 2011)
Meetup members Greg Winker, Teresa Bzdek and I arrived at the Whistler Sliding Center on Saturday, March 12, at 2:15 pm to participate in the Skeleton Sport Experience. Greg was accompanied by Molly - a non-sledder who took photographs and videos. Paul Kidder did not get into this session but did get in the March 13 session. Speed demon Jen Porter, who wanted to participate but could not, was there in spirit.
Upon arrive we filled out the usual registration and waiver of liability forms, and stepped onto a scale to make sure that we weighed less than 220 pounds. This was followed up with a lecture on the history of skeleton sledding and its recent inclusion as a Winter Olympic Games competition. We were then introduced to the skeleton sled.
We learned that the runners of a skeleton sled are tubular rather than rectangular as are the runners of a bobsled or luge. This gives the sled the ability to move laterally which means than when it climbs the side of a track it is more likely to slide back down into the trough rather than flip over which the other vehicles will do because their sharp, polished steel runners "bite" into the ice. This makes the skeleton sled the safest of the three vehicles.
We were next fitted with helmets that are intended for use with dirt bikes. These helmets featured an integral chin guard which is intended to protect that part of the face which will be only two or three inches from the ice as we rush down the track at 60 mph. We put on a black baklava, which made us look like terrorists or SWAT team members, and our helmet, and practiced getting into the sledding position: head overhangs the front of the sled, arms tucked to the side, hands gripping the handles, and feet off the ice.
We were informed of several safety rules:
Never let go of the sled. No one was bold enough to ask what would happen if one let go of the sled. My guess is that it would be similar to being pushed out of a car that was going 50 - 60 mph, and because the coefficient of friction on ice is so low and because the track is sloping downward one would be sliding a long distance before coming to a stop.
Never look up. The correct sliding position is face down with the shoulders plastered to the sled. If one looks up the shoulders will lift off the sled and the resulting redistribution of weight will cause the sled to perform erratically.
Keep the arms tucked in. In the take out area at the end of the track there is a tendency for most skeleton sleds being driven by beginners to ping pong - that is, to ricochet from one side of the track to the other. The sleds have small bumpers on the sides but if the arms are not tucked in they will be the first thing to hit the wall. The instructor offered the use of arm and elbow guards but no one took him up. Here is a brief clip showing the ping pong effect:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD8w_1Fm2SI
Don't drag your feet. There are expansion joints all along the track and some might not be completely filled in with ice. If you are dragging your feet to slow down and the toe of your shoe gets caught in an expansion joint....well, I'll let you think of the consequences.
My attire for this adventure was a US Army tank corps Nomex fire retardant overall. This outfit stood apart from the ski outfits worn by everyone else.
We hiked up the the Maple Leaf starting point which is just above curve 11 (there are 16 curves on this track). One lies down on the sled, gets into position, tells the "slide master" that everything is ok, waits for the light to turn green, and then gets a push onto the steep acceleration lane that merges with the track.
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(bottom two photographs taken by Teresa Bzdek)
It takes about 30 seconds to slide from the Maple Leaf start to the end of the track. During the run one goes through six curves. There isn't much to see because you are looking straight down at the ice surface which is just a few inches away; you do not look up. The chin guard will occasionally scrape the track. When one goes into a curve there is a feeling that the sled will tip over sideways. However, the G forces, about 2G, will keep the rider in the sled and keep the sled plastered to the track. Here are photographs of my runs down the track:
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(photographs by Coast Mountain Photography)
Here are two videos taken by Molly that show my two runs down the track. On the first run my terminal speed was 96.3 kilometers per hour (about 59.7 mph), and on my second run my terminal speed was 95.8 kmph (about 59.3 mph) - a bit slower because my chin guard was scraping the track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omPjjbXghTM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_g3OiEIEUg
This was great fun,
