Rather reluctantly, I decided to go Night Sledding with a few Outdoor Chicks last week. Iâm pretty open to trying new things so I thought, âWhat the hell! How hard can it be?â My previous experience of sledding -- or âtobogganingâ -- was as a kid bombing down the hills near my house on a piece of sled-shaped plastic with zero fear. This was definitely a bit different than my rosy childhood memories!
Going up in the lift I wondered to myself, why am I heading up a cable car without my snowboard and apparently ready to throw myself down a pretty steep mountain on a old-fashioned-looking piece of wood and metal? Surely, this was the type of activity that required several pints of beer and lack of common sense? OK, OK, I might be overreacting a tiny bit. Little kids do this all the time, right?
We decided to head down in twos since it would apparently be more fun. Or so I was told. So I climbed on the back of the sled with my more experienced partner and we headed off down the misty mountain.
The first run was terrifying! Although I admit to being a bit of a wimp (albeit a wimp that has driven a wobbly moped around remote mountain passes in Vietnam and gone heliskiing in Canada), my screams were coupled with laughter and it was actually a lot of fun.
Despite the fact that I was never so happy to see the bottom of a run, all my fears seemed to be erased on the way back up the lift and at the top, and I agreed (a little more enthusiastically this time) to do another run.
This time it was a lot more fun. Once I had gotten used to how the sled worked, where to put my feet, and started to feel a little more like I wasnât going to fall off the sled at every turn. We giggled and laughed as we whooshed through the snow down the dark, winding track.
Then it happened. The crash. It was only minor collision and everyone escaped relatively unscathed but that was enough for me. So, we headed back up the cable car and ended the night with some hot käsenodelsuppe in the mountain âhutteâ.
As the rest of the group headed back down the mountain on their sleds, I was still a bit shaky and opted for the safety of the lift. Two runs, one crash, and a few bruises was definitely enough excitement for one night ;)
If you want to go night sledding, there are many resorts around Innsbruck offering it (usually free with the Freizeitticket). Just check out the resort webpages.
We spent the evening at Schlick 2000, open every Wednesday from 730-9pm (until 10pm on certain nights when there's also a night show). You can rent a sled at the hill for âŹ6.
While you may not catching me rushing out to go night sledding again, it was an awesome experience and I highly recommend it (at least once)!
Have you had any experiences of night sledding? Leave a comment below.