Sledding down the Uetliberg

When Azrael and I went to the Uetliberg for dinner at the end of January, we discovered the existence of a sledding trail starting just by the Uetliberg train station.

I managed to buy a sled yesterday and we'd planned to test it out right away. Azrael called the "sled path hotline" and was told that the trail was open, there was snow, but to be careful as it was a little icy mid-trail.

It was my first time riding tandem on a sled, and actually only my second time on a sled, ever! Once we sorted out our sitting and driving positions, it was really great fun!!! Until we hit the icy patch.....

I was happily riding pillion, without a care in the world, when suddenly I noticed that Azrael was starting to use his hands to try to slow us down. It was then that I realised that we were slightly out of control and that I should also assist in trying to stop the sled! The patch was incredibly icy, and the next thing we knew, we had spun 180 degrees and were then travelling backwards down the icy patch. I decided to ditch the sled, and proceeded to "throw" myself off the sled.

I thought I would try to walk down, but the minute I stood up, I slipped on the ice and fell and was dragged a couple of meters down the slope!! Thankfully I did not slide down very far and managed to get some traction to steer myself to the side. Ouch! It hurts just thinking about it! Thankfully I have quite enough "cushioning" on my hips. Nevertheless, I am sure a big fat bruise will manifest itself by tomorrow.

On the ground, I turned to look for Azrael and watched in horror as I saw him continue to slide down sideways with his body on the sled. Thankfully he also managed to get some traction to steer himself to the side, away from the ice. How scary!

Not surprisingly, we caught up with a bunch of sledders walking and dragging their sleds along after that icy patch. Once we cleared that section, we got back on the sled and carried on.

It really was good fun, but the icy patches were just too scary. It took us about 40 minutes to get down the 3.1km trail. Given the icy conditions, we decided we would not have another go rightaway, but instead will save it for another day when the conditions are better.

Below is a pic of the sled-path, exactly where we wiped-out!