Here’s a few more tidbits from my experience Saturday night at the Whistler Sliding Center:
– If you go, make the trek to the top. It’s about 20 switchbacks of straight up hiking and will remind you of some of the harshest hikes you’ve taken in the North Cascades, but it’s worth it. We started out at the top and watched the first seven or eight sleds take off. We then moved slowly down the mountain, turn by turn, and experienced each unique turn (there’s 16 in all). The course then pops you into the finish area, which is basically a huge party horse-shoe sized party area. By this time the fans are whipped into a frenzy because the competition is down to the last 10 sleds, which are the leading sleds and are all vying for first place. It’s a great way to end a great night.
– Like the speed of the bobsled, the wrecks are much more dramatic in person. We saw three sleds slide by us on their tops, which obviously looks wrong. But the worst part may be the sound. The sleds make a horrible screeching sound as they slowly slide by and that, mirrored by the complete silence of the spectators, makes for an eerie experience.
– Speaking of wrecks, the Australian bobsledding team flipped their sled on the fifth turn (a rare occurence) on their first run of the day. On their second run, we were standing in front of a group of Australians in the finish viewing area who started heckling their own driver with derisive chats and mocking laughter. It was all in good fun and when the Australian slide hit the side of the starting chute (even more rare) and then exited the chute sideways, there were howls of laughter from everyone in the crowd. After seeing his team bumble out of the gate, one of the Australians loudly remarked: “Hey what do you expect, he practices on sand!”
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