It lasts less than one minute & consists of a fumbling slow start followed by a frenzy of sheer adrenaline, making funny faces & rigorous physical exertion, leaving you wobbly-legged, possibly sore with bruises and in a euphoric state of mind when it's all said and done.  And there's ice and a camera involved to boot.  I am, of course, talking about the Olympic sport of bobsledding.

 

To some, there's something wildly appealing about hurtling down an icy series of twists and turns, pulling 5g's at 80 miles per hour.  To others, plummeting the equivalent of 40-storeys down a waterslide covered in ice unrestrained inside a fiberglass coffin on a pair of steel rails is a vicious hellride that only the truly adventurous, or insane, could enjoy.  To put 5g's in perspective, Formula 1 race car drivers experience 5g's during the heaviest of braking at top speed.  Maverick and Goose only felt 4g's in their inverted dive with the MiG28.  Perhaps a better comparison: the space shuttle experiences a maximum of just 3g's during launch and re-entry.  When I first heard about the opportunity to ride down The Comet - Park City's Olympic bobsled ride for tourists - I immediately signed on before the rational part of my brain had time to kibosh my taste of the Olympic experience.

Crash Course On What To Do In Case Of Crash

As if summoned by the recess bell, five minutes prior to check-in, the briefing room filled to capacity with eager young faces, all looking for their own taste of the Olympic experience.  Ice breakers and nervous laughter used up the remaining time until the instructor took the floor with a crash-course video.  Quickly breezing through the boring points on sled-etiquette and being mindful of your knees in your team-member's back, the instructor moved on to meatier subjects like: how to cope with the downward pressure of 5g's, what to do if the sled should tip over while traveling 80mph and other useful but hopefully not applicable tips.  The snowboarders in the room pounced on any reference of danger or bodily harm with sound effects and laughter.  The skiers, wide-eyed behind their expensive goggles, sat like statues with scarves wrapped neatly around their tense necks.

After a signed waiver accompanied by more warnings and recommendations, we were ready.  One memorable tip was to remove our mobile phones from our pockets because those g-forces previously mentioned would multiply our body weight 5 times and if a phone were to be in, say, our back pocket, it would become an iPancake.

Boarding The Comet

Helmets strapped on, pockets emptied and making our way to the track, our team was like a group of rookie fighter pilots marching to the runway in anticipation of our first battle - not sure what to expect and not expected to return as the same people.

We'd been informed that the person riding at the back of the sled would have the most aggressive ride and would feel the most g-force due to their posture and position.  Having decided that shouting, "shotgun back seat!" would hurt our fragile new team bond, I decided a quick round of rock-paper-scissor would fairly decide who got the coveted back position.  One teammate caught the fear and immediately dropped out of contention with an apologetic grimace.  Down to the two of us, I went with tried and true rock but his splayed out paper effortlessly guaranteed his position at the back of the sled.

With our sled lined up and waiting to be boarded, a stocky man in a bodysuit with legs like tree trunks, indicative of the many runners-turned-bobsledders, came our way with helmet in hand to introduce himself as our driver.  It's later revealed by another athlete on-site that our driver is none other than Pat Brown, UAF Bobsled Development Head Coach, coach of the 1988 Jamaican Olympic bobsled team and the basis for John Candy's character in the movie Cool Runnings (although he doesn't really appreciate that particular association).



Prior to my journey, an acquaintance who claimed to know a thing or two about bobsledding, kept telling that The Comet was for kids and had me convinced it was nothing like the real thing.  As I sat in the sled at the very top of the track with a bobsledding legend in full gear getting into the pilot's seat, I remember having one of those rarefied moments that only really happens in Christmas movies when kids discover Santa Claus is real after all.  Now it was time to see whether or not I'd get that Red Rider BB Gun I was hoping for.

Nowhere To Go But Down

A brisk shove off and we were on our way.  Inching our way out of the starting gate, it became increasingly apparent that there was no turning back.  Oh well - buy the ticket, take the ride.  Slowly heading into the first turn of 15, I could hear and feel the rickety sled jostling over every bump in the ice.  Picking up speed now, the random bumps and rattling start to turn into a steady hum of vibration and noise.  A few easy turns and then suddenly my head's compressed firmly down into my shoulders and my neck has disappeared as we barrel through our first real turn.  We're roaring down the track now with the scenery around us blurring and the vibrations feeling like we're indeed riding a comet, blazing along some twisted trajectory towards who-knows-what.

Near the end of the run I realize I'd been laughing wildly the entire time but couldn't of known because I couldn't even hear myself think for the thunder of the sled and my own heartbeat pounding (after all, the g-force compresses your body so far into your seat your head's practically in your chest through the turns).  It was the longest 53.9 seconds of my life and yet it was still too short.  By comparison, Olympians can get from top to bottom in just 47 short seconds at the Park City track.  Upon arriving at the bottom and our pilot hitting the brakes, I immediately understood the formerly bizarre appeal to bobsledding and those other dare-inspired events like the luge and skeleton (which are also available for test drive at the Utah Olympic Park).  While bobsledding may not be for the faint of heart, it's something most people can do and all would enjoy.

If you're looking for a taste of the Olympic experience and want an unprecedented dose of adrenaline and fun, visit the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah to ride The Comet.

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