Austrian sledging: a thrilling downhill ride!

Mont Sainte-Marguerite… You may know it today as Mont Radar, this former military base that is now a 4-season open-air base where you can enjoy a wide range of activities including hiking, mountain biking, snowshoeing, visiting the bunker at the summit, sleeping in chalets or CoolBoxes and… go down more than 2 kilometres on an Austrian sled!

What is Austrian sledging?

We tried Austrian sledging (link in french) as a family, because yes, the activity is accessible to everyone! However, children under the age of 10 must ride on an adult’s sled.

Before we started, once everyone had their helmets (mandatory, hire available on site), ski goggles (recommended) and sleds, we were given a training session on how to control our new sled and the safety rules to be observed. We then head for one of the two buses (heated, yay!) that will take us to the summit of the mountain, at an altitude of 698 meters.

It's going down!

Once at the top, we line up, wait for the “OK” and our little push to go. Here’s a funny thing: to control the sled, we have to use our weight in the opposite direction to where we want to turn. Our brains don’t assimilate this as quickly as we’d like, which leads to some crazy situations, like going straight onto the shoulder of the road just a few meters after we’ve started!

The first run is really about getting used to the sled and the conditions. You’re more cautious at the start and the further down you go, the more confident you become. Embankments on either side of the track prevent us from leaving it, and there are supervisors on hand to ensure safety and compliance with the rules. The children are impressed by the speed we can reach and give us a few good shouts!

What I really enjoy is the length of the descent. You get the feeling that you’re sliding for the sake of it! It’s not something that gives you just a few seconds of thrills and then ends just when you want to keep going! Here, you control your sled, curve after curve, and sometimes you get a little scared, but the pleasure lasts throughout the 2.3 km descent!

More downhill runs!

By the second run, you feel more ready, you know what to expect! You ask for more thrust, you adopt a slightly more aerodynamic position and you get a taste for picking up a bit more speed.

Let’s just say that our feet are already touching the ground less to slow us down. After all, it’s snow! And if we fall, it’s not from a great height, even if it can sometimes take a funny turn (my little spin and my few meters backwards still gave me a mini scare)!

For the third and fourth runs, adults and teenagers aged 14 and over can try the famous ‘Kamikaze’ run, which is much faster and steeper over the same distance. As we were with young children, we couldn’t venture there. So we continued on the family trail in the beautiful golden light at the end of the day.

But believe me, if you can do the Kamikaze, I recommend it! A few years ago, we did two runs there with colleagues during a shoot and I can tell you it’s absolutely crazy! We looked like four kids, so excited were we, screaming and laughing all the way down the 2.3 kilometers. It’s a real thrill!

The sun sets on Mont Radar

Once our four runs were over (we’d just done nearly 9 kilometers on a sled), the kids wanted to go sliding again!

We had barely recovered from the sledge when we took the tubes available outside, heading for the slide not too far away. The descents are much shorter and quieter, but it’s a great way to end the day.

To round off the day, we warm up by the fire with a nice hot chocolate just before heading home as the sun sets.

Photos : Stéphanie Allard