ON TOP OF THE WORLD
AHEAD OF BEIJING HOSTING THE WINTER OLYMPICS IN FEBRUARY, WE GET THE LOWDOWN ON TOBOGGANING,
THE HAIR-RISING PRECURSOR TO BOBSLEIGH AND SKELETON. WORDS: SACHA SCOGING
THE INFO
SOURCES: ATLASOBSCURA.COM; BRITANNICA.COM; CBC.CA; FOXNEWS.COM; GUINNESSWORLDRECORDS.COM; HISTORY.COM; MYSWITZERLAND.COM
FULL STEAM AHEAD
SWITZERLAND’S HISTORIC RHAETIAN RAILWAY WINDS
THROUGH THE ALBULA VALLEY TO REACH THE START
OF THE FOUR-MILE-LONG TOBOGGAN RIDE FROM
PREDA TO BERGÜN
83 .5mph
The record for fastest speed on
a gravity-powered snow sled,
achieved by Guy Martin in 2014
Top 4: Alpine coasters
2002
The year women’s
bobsledding fi rst became
an Olympic sport
6.8 miles
The length of Switzerland’s
Big-Pintenfritz, one of the
longest sledge runs in Europe
SET AGAINST A BACKDROP
OF MOUNTAINS AND
FJORDS, NORWAY’S
CHARLOTTENLUND PARK,
IN TROMSØ, NORTH OF THE
ARCTIC CIRCLE, IS HOME
TO A NUMBER OF UNIQUE
SLOPES FOR TOBOGGANING,
AND IS PRIME TERRITORY
FOR AURORA-SPOT TING
SWITZERLAND
Glacier 3000
Experience near-weightlessness
on this ride located 9,740ft
above sea level
ANDORRA
Naturlandia
The Tobotronc coaster takes you
through 3.3 miles of mountain
forest on a two-seater trolley
AUSTRIA
Mieders, Tyrol
Feel the rush of a 2,100ft vertical
drop and 40 hairpin turns on this
9,000 ft monorail track
ITALY
Funbob
Whizz down the slopes at over
20mph on Mount Baranci’s Alpine
coaster, in Northern Italy
Wildkogel Arena, in
western Austria, is
home to the world’s
longest fl oodlit
toboggan run, at just
over eight miles.
The winding course
takes 30-50 minutes
to complete, and you
can even stop off at
a slopeside bar for a
tipple en route
The word ‘toboggan’ comes
from ‘tobakun’, which means
‘sled’ in the North American
Mi’kmaq language. The very
fi rst toboggans were oft en
made from whale bone and
used to transport people and
items across snow and ice
IM
AG
ES
:^ G
ET
TY
;^ A
LA
MY
FAS T FAC T S
IN NUMBERS
In the 1880s, the toboggan run
was a popular attraction at
the Fête de Nuit on Montreal’s
Mount Royal. Spectators
included dignitaries such as
the Governor General
TRAVEL GEEKS
176 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel