Whistler Sliding Centre « Adventure. Travel. Life.

This week, the Whistler Sliding Centre opened its public bobsleigh experience. This activity on the fastest track in the world now joins skeleton as a once in a lifetime bucket list item that brings you closer to being an Olympic athlete than you ever thought possible.

Many Canadian lads and lasses have grown up watching the Winter Olympics on TV with their parents. Aside from figure skating and ice hockey, what else is more iconic and exhilarating than bobsleigh? Hulk-like men and women running, then jumping into a tiny bathtub sized sled and pummeling down the track at lightening speed. We’ve all secretly wanted to be one of those bronzed gods and goddesses in tights and spiked Adidas shoes.

Much to the chagrin of my boyfriend – who has wanted to be a bobsledder since he was a little boy – I had the opportunity to try the experience with some of my colleagues.

After a brief introduction to the sport and some important safety information, we are shuttled up to the start, which is more than two-thirds up the track above the public skeleton start.

There, we meet our professional bobsleigh driver Pat Brown, who just so happens to have been the coach of the original Jamaican Bobsleigh Team and the inspiration for John Candy’s character in the film “Cool Runnings.”

Pat tells us that the minimum age to begin bobsleigh is 16 and there is only one junior bobsleigh team in Canada.

As my 2 female colleagues and I hop into the sled, my heart skips a beat. “Has anyone ever thrown up in one of these things?”

Our fearless leader Pat bonks us all on the helmet as a show of solidarity and good luck before he hops in.

The track crewman gets us off to a running start – we aren’t allowed to run ourselves for obvious reasons. And, we’re off. I can hear one of them on the radio: “Be prepared. It’s a light sled.” What does that mean?

At first the sled moves at a slow, rattling pace and I think: “This isn’t so bad. It’s like bumper cars.”

Then all of a sudden, the sled picks up speed. I assume the position we learned: shoulders shrugged, arms wide and strong, holding on for dear life with a white knuckle grip.

As we swerve from left to right through the turns, our sled is now a Mack Truck and then a 747 Jet. “Sweet Jebus, hold on!” I’m screaming the whole way down and so are my 2 sled companions. Pat is as calm as a cucumber – I assume.

As we enter the final Thunderbird turn, the sled hits its fastest speeds and my brain feels a little fuzzy.

As we come to a complete stop, my head is still buzzing from the G-force and adrenaline. Pat high-5s us as we step onto the finish platform, just like his Jamaican brethren many years ago.

In just 45 seconds we’ve descended the world’s fastest track, reaching speeds at 125 kilometres per hour. No big deal.

Would I do it again? Heck yes! And you should too.

More Info

The public bobsleigh experience is $149 CAD + tax

Sessions are 2 hours

1 bobsleigh ride per participant

http://www.whistlerslidingcentre.com

Photo: courtesy of The Question newspaper

I recently demoed the Skeleton Sport Experience program in Whistler as a preview to the public program, which launches Feb. 16:

A la Olympic competition, an echoing voice from the control tower calls my name and all of a sudden, I’m lying stomach down on a narrow sled, my head facing an icy track and my arms gripping the side handles tightly. The only thing that lies between me and rapid acceleration is a track crewman holding my legs. But then, after quickly checking that I’m still game, he lets go. My first try at skeleton in the Whistler Sliding Centre commences.

On this first attempt, I hear nothing – I only feel it. The sled rumbles down the track, rapidly picking up speed as it whizzes around corners with names like “50/50″ – as in there’s a 50/50 chance of making the turn. I’m screaming; partially from fear and partially from exhilaration. By the time my body hits a g-force twice that of my body weight, I’m completely terrified.

“Just don’t let go!” I keep thinking, repeating the advice I’d been told at an earlier one-hour information session. Head down, grip tight, I hold on through the final corner, Thunderbird. Just one year ago, world-class athletes were charging through this very turn on their quest for gold – albeit a few clicks faster than my piddly 97.2 km/h. As I slow, I begin to hit the sides of the outrun like a ping pong ball.

When my sled finally comes to a complete stop, the track crew grab me and help me get off the sled. I’m shaking all over and my head feels spacey, but the adrenaline is still pumping. I want more!

My second attempt at skeleton is less vocal – but equally as nerve racking. Now I know what’s in store and it thrills and scares me.

My second run was 98 km/h, which I’m proud to say is among the top 4 times of the day. They later emailed the results and as you’ll see, Chris Gailus from Global TV got top spot:

Whistler Sliding Centre Results

The Skeleton Sport Experience Program, which launches Wednesday, takes approximately 3.5 hours and costs $130 for 2 timed runs and the opportunity of a lifetime. The experience – which caps out at 20 participants – runs from Wednesday to Sunday starting at 2:30pm through to March 20. Check this link for more information and to reserve your spot. The bobsleigh experience with professional pilot launches in November 2011.

You might ask: “Would you do it again?” and my unequivocal answer is absolutely, in a heartbeat! In fact, people all across the Sea to Sky Corridor have been getting into recreational sliding. All you have to do is take 2-day intro to sliding course and register with the BC Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association. For more info on how you can get into recreational bobsleigh or skeleton, check out this website.

So, what’s the deal with skeleton?

My British beau, Neil, will be proud to note that skeleton was invented in the late 1800s by Englishmen living in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Skeleton, inspired by the English sport of cresta sledding, was named for the skeletal resemblance of the original sleds. Skeleton made its first appearance at the 1928 Winter Games, and then took a 20-year hiatus, before reappearing in the 1948 Winter Games. After another 54-year hiatus, skeleton came back with a vengeance at the 2002 Winter Games. Read the full history here.

IF YOU GO … (which you must do!)