Switzerland’s most perilous Cresta skeleton run and its century-old traditions are back for another winter season of tobogganing.
There’s a very long ice track in St. Moritz, which every winter welcomes hundreds of sports fanatics that dive down the Swiss mountains using nothing but a toboggan. Carved into the Swiss Mountain, the track is home to the yearly St. Mortiz Cresta Run, a skeleton 1,200 metres-long toboggan race which attracts amateurs and beginners alike. It welcomes a community of excitable sport fanatics, which gather yearly to slide down the track amidst snow-covered pine trees at dizzying speeds.
There are two starting points to the St. Moritz Cresta Run: Top and Junction. Only experienced riders can qualify to start from Top, meaning most are confined to starting at Junction. Within the actual track, most corners are named, of which ‘Shuttlecock’ is known for being the most challenging; a lack of control often leads riders to leave the track at this point. Whilst this may not be a desired outcome, riders who become ‘victims of the curve’ automatically become members of the Shuttlecock Club and are entitled to wear a Shuttlecock tie – a fact which attest to the run’s devotion to tradition.
Built in the winter of 1884, The Cresta Run is often described as the fastest non-powered sport out there, with experts attaining a speed of around 90 miles per hour. This January and February beckons an exciting calendar of competitions, interlaced with club dinners, night rides and beginner practice slots. Needless to say, it is an ideal place to bump into Switzerland’s most adventurous visitors. With St. Moritz already being a celebrity and royal hotspot for ski season, The Cresta Run is naturally populated with the most adventurous of famous faces.