Scared by the Cresta Run? Wait till you try this...
I WAS scared rigid when I took on St Moritz’s formidable Cresta Run back in my 20s. Now I was about to try something even more terrifying – hurtling head-first down an Olympic ice track on a solid metal tray with no brakes.
At least we had an expert guide for our attempt at the skeleton in the Austrian Tirol resort of Igls – former Olympic champion Amy Williams. Amy tried to reassure us that all would be fine if we just followed a few simple instructions.
‘Think of yourself as a sack of potatoes lying on the sled,’ she said. ‘Less is more when it comes to movement. Don’t even move your head – instead just shift your eyes to look at each bend and the sled will follow the track.’
Suddenly, the clattering roar of steel runners on ice filled the air and someone clad in Lycra flashed past us. One of our group – former Olympic hurdler Colin Jackson – yelled: ‘Wow! Give me some of that!’ In contrast, I felt sick to the pit of my stomach and yearned for the comforts of our five-star hotel in nearby Innsbruck.
After a practice run from a starting point halfway up the track, I felt slightly more confident, although I was grateful for shoulder pads and elbow cuffs after bashing into the ice walls several times.
But walking up the rest of the track was truly daunting as it revealed much steeper sections and one huge loop. Experienced sliders like Amy can reach close to 80mph on this circuit.
Just before my turn, an impending sense of doom nearly overwhelmed me, but I somehow summoned up the courage to push off. Unfortunately, such was my terror that I could not recall all of Amy’s instructions. I forgot to breathe, and I frenetically changed angles, which meant I smashed against the walls at furious speed.
Only after a bunjee jump from a cable car have I experienced a similar sense of relief to be alive at the end of something.
Most of the group got such a huge adrenaline rush that they dashed back to the top for a second turn.
Me? Give me fine dinners and Innsbruck’s Christmas glorious markets any day.