In 2012 while we were in Chamonix we took a detour to the Bob Sleigh run at La Plagne to allow my Dad to fulfil one of his lifelong ambitions to ride a sled. At the time, he was joined by my brother, Andy, and Ben but as we were part funding all the rides for various birthday and Christmas gifts I decided the bank balance probably couldn’t take another rider and instead I manned the camera. So when we found out that at the Whistler Sliding Centre you can do not just Bob Sleigh, but also Skeleton rides I was not going to miss out! My intention was confirmed when we got talking to someone who works as a medic at the Centre in one of the gondolas while out boarding. His advice was to treat the sled as a massage table and totally relax into it, like a sack of spuds. This I could do!! His description of the experience made me even more determined to take the plunge.
We decided to go along one Saturday to watch the professionals in action – a great experience in itself – the speeds they go, even in training, are phenomenal. Appetite further whetted we headed down to the helpful guest services to book my place for Sunday. Turns out this was a bit of a coup. Inadvertently I had picked Super Bowl day to slide, meaning there were only five people booked on, myself included, compared to the usual 19. Seriously, who comes to Whistler to watch the Super Bowl?!?!
The 179 CAD experience includes two runs plus initial safety briefing. I sat through this with excitement mounting. The 2010 Olympic Gold Medal for women’s Skeleton was won on this track by British athlete Amy Williams – no pressure then. A quick tweet to Amy was immediately met with a wish from her for me to “Enjoy the ride!” How cool is that?!
Our ride started at corner 11 through to 16, from a static start rather than the run-in done by the professionals on TV. Even so, we were expecting to get up to speeds of 100km/h – quite enough for me thanks! The staff were hugely attentive so I felt in safe hands all the way through. The musical choice of The La’s There She Goes Again at the top was more than appropriate! I was the last of the group to slide, taking up position by kneeling on the edge of the sled and laying out, head held up over the front edge, hands gripping the handles behind me and tucking my elbows in whilst relaxing my shoulders. Maintaining this position for ~30seconds should be easy, right? Once given the all clear on the track one of the support crew gives the slightest push on my feet and I am off! Through the first few corners I am able to keep my head up and take in the amazing view of Rainbow Mountain across the valley, but by corners 14, 15 & 16 I am fighting the G-Force to keep my head up and see anything other than the track speeding by underneath me. It is exhilarating and over all too quickly – 33.38 seconds to be precise, with a top speed of 97.2kms/hr. I ping pong from one side to the other in the outrun but that’s fine, the metal bumpers on the sled take the brunt of it. I’m amazed at how breathless I am, but I guess 2-3 G-Force pushing down on you, plus probably holding my breath for 30 seconds will do that! I had wondered if I would want to do a second run, but I am definitely going again! I am slightly quicker second time round, taking 33.17 seconds with a top speed of 97.1kms/hr, finishing second overall and not disgracing the reputation of British women on this track! Phew!SEE VIDEO