Gravity Test
Photography: Patrick Cone
These people are nuts. Why else would anyone lie flat on their back, feet first, an inch or two from the ground, and hurl themselves down a steep, icy slope at 60+ miles an hour? And not only that, they do it again and again—trying to go even faster!
Welcome to the world of luge.
Certainly not for the faint of heart, this is a sport truly developed for the adrenaline junky. Whether on ice or pavement, it’s a thrill a nano-second, where the slightest shift in weight can result in bloodied or broken bodies.
Billed as “the fastest sport on ice,” traditional luge has its roots on European logging roads sledding from village to village. The first recorded race took place in 1883—on a two-and-a-half-mile, downhill road! Embraced as an Olympic sport in Innsbruck in 1964, luging has become a mainstay in winter sports competitions.
Maybe you’ve seen the kids in the Fourth of July parade cruising down Main Street on their sleds—only these are modified for pavement with wheels instead of runners. Wheeled sleds give ice lugers a chance to get the feel of how to turn a sled and learn the notion of how weight really controls direction. If you like the feel, and have no fear, then ice luging might just be your thing.
But you really don’t have to be in Olympic shape to experience this rush. The Utah Olympic Park offers rides to anyone who has the cash and the courage. If you find you’re hooked and want to get serious about the sport, check out their camps for training and promoting new lugers. (658.4200.)
Or, just maybe, you would rather enjoy traditional ice luging’s wilder cousin— street luging. A conglomeration of skateboarding and ice luging, this sport is done on long, narrow, custom-made sleds that can propel a human (who is just crazy enough to try) 70 miles an hour down steep, windy roads. For the true street luging aficionados, the steeper the road, the greater the thrill. A place like Little Cottonwood Canyon is the ultimate ride.
Occasionally in the summer months, a loose group of street luge practitioners will demonstrate and teach their trade on the road from the top of the Utah Olympic Park. But more frequently, a closed road in the Salt Lake Valley is the preferred training ground.
It’s estimated that over 1,000 people participate in this extreme gravity sport worldwide. There are formal schools, clubs and a sponsored worldwide racing circuit! Proper equipment, and the right clothing—leathers, good gloves, shoes and helmets—are a must. Best is to find a smooth, closed road, and as important, seasoned instruction. It’s not quite as dangerous if you actually know what you’re doing.
A treat for local gravity gurus is the occasional opportunity to see world record holder Brian “Danger” Lee sliding the streets of Utah. A Sandy resident, Lee actually set the world street luging speed record on a road in Draper—clocking 90.2 mph. (Whoa.)
So, if you find you can’t resist these downhill temptations, give the Wasatch Luge Club a call at 647.3800 and learn how you too can negotiate the ice at high speeds. If the pavement is more your style, call Steve at Cloud 9 Soaring, 801.576.6460. He has the gear and the expertise to make you a street luger in no time! Then gather your wits, courage, good shoes (after all, they are your brakes) and enjoy the ride!
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