National Geographic Traveller UK - 01 e 02.2022

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

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LA

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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

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