Two Kids Sledding Downhill

About this drawing

Those kids sledding downhill are enjoying a pastime that needs only three things: a slope, some snow, and the nerve to go. Sleds were work vehicles in northern Europe for ages, hauling goods across frozen ground, but children have been borrowing them for fun for about as long as hills have existed.

Serious competition came along in the nineteenth century, when British tourists wintering in Switzerland began racing on icy village roads. Davos and St. Moritz turned into hot spots. Out of those races came luge, in which riders lie on their backs with feet first, and skeleton, a headfirst dive on a small sled.

Bobsled grew up in the same Alpine towns, adding a crew and a steerable, bullet-shaped body. All three are Olympic sports today, raced in curved ice tracks at frightening speed. American families prefer something gentler. A steerable wooden sled with metal runners, first sold in the late 1800s, became a staple of snow days for generations. Doctors recommend a few safety basics: choose a gentle hill away from roads and trees, wear a helmet, and sit up facing forward. Follow those, and a snow day can still deliver all the thrills of the Olympics without any of the risk.

• kids
• sledding
• snow
• winter
• fun