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    STUDIO MOTOR Custom Bike 

    the Cresta Run: Gentlemen, Count Your Bones!

    For 125 years, the death-defying members of the St Moritz Tobogganing Club have thrown themselves, one by one, headfirst down the steep, narrow Cresta Run. Invented by the British, the Club is British-run to this day but it has always attracted the cream of the international jet set, prepared to risk broken bones – or worse.



    This delightful insanity began in the winter of 1884/85, when British visitors to St Moritz turned the lighthearted pastime of tobogganing into a serious sport.W. H. Bulpetts, an English Major, worked with an Australian enthusiast to design an ice channel, three quarters of a mile long, between St Moritz andCelerina. With a total drop of 514 feet through 10 banked turns, and a gradient of up to 1 in 2.8, gaining speed was never a problem. Riding ‘skeleton’ toboggans, heavily ballasted with lead, the officers, gentlemen and aristocrats launched themselves into the abyss, without brakes. Within five years, all riders were using the now traditional headfirst riding position and speeds of up to 80mph became possible.Cresta riders follow the club’s unique rules and customs, with traditional clothing favoured. There is a noticeably military ethos; no bad thing in such a dangerous sport. Although it’s a playground for the rich, the famous and the titled, theCresta Run is not a snobbish clique. Anyone with the courage, the manners and a pure sporting spirit is welcome, regardless of class. It just helps if you like gin and tonic with your adrenalin.Apart from the British, the Cresta Run has attracted a passionate following of international celebrities over the years, including playboy industrialist Gunter Sachs, Fiat patriarch Gianni Agnelli and top auto industry figure, Bob Lutz. Although women have been barred from riding since 1929, the social membership includes such stars as Brigitte Bardot. Relaxed but elegant, the Cresta Runseems slightly eccentric; non-British members see it as a charming last outpost of the British Empire.
    © Jason Larraman
    Behind the fun, danger still lurks. Between them, innumerable riders have managed to break every bone of the human body at least once. Since 1885, there have been over 500,000 rides and 28,000 falls – but only four deaths. Beginners are lectured with the famous ‘Death Talk’ in their introductory lesson, which includes a collage of interesting X-ray images. Those who do fall are instructed to stand up (if possible) and signal their survival by waving to the Control Tower. Only then may they depart for the krankenhaus (hospital).
    © Max Galli / Jason Larraman
    There are two starting points on the Cresta Run. Beginners must ride competently from the starting box at Junction, outside the Clubhouse, before being allowed to start from Top, which is considerably higher up the valley. One corner, Shuttlecock, acts as a safety valve and it’s especially tricky from Top. Then taken at over 50mph, riders steer by alignment of the body. Those who get it wrong tend to fly over the top, harmlessly at that point into soft straw and loose snow. Statistics show that one in 14 rides ends there. Fallers then qualify to wear the Shuttlecock Club tie. Steering in the lower slopes is more by movement of the head in the airflow. With one’s face inches from the ice, the notorious ‘Cresta Kiss’ needs no explanation.
    © SMTC /Max Galli
    Beginners who follow instructions properly, by raking hard with their spiked boots, always get to the bottom safely on their first ride. The risks rise as speed is increased and expert riders use different boots, with no spiked rakes. Everybody feels apprehensive before starting and, once on the move, the Cresta Run feels incredibly fast. Even first-timers are convinced they’ve broken the sound barrier. At lunch afterwards, in the Sunny Bar of the Kulm Hotel, daring exploits can be explained at length. The Run is closed in the afternoons, for maintenance and to avoid damage from the sun.
    © Jason Larraman
    The Cresta Run is a favourite destination for many members of the British armed forces, including such stars as RAF fighter pilot and World Land Speed Recordholder, Squadron Leader Andy Green. However, the locals often dominate the results and St Moritz greengrocer, Nino Bibbia, won the ‘Grand National’ no fewer than eight times. That honour is now shared by Franco Gansser. Nevertheless, British rider James Sunley holds the record from Top, which he set in 1999 at 50.09 seconds, making an average speed of 53mph.For evening entertainment, there’s always the Dracula Club, by the start of the nearby bobsleigh run. Built in 1974 by Gunter Sachs, even the Dracula Club can seem frightfully British at times. The Cresta season runs from about December 20 until the end of February or early March. The Run is still crafted by hand every year, out of the ice and using the natural contours of the valley. An exhibition, celebrating 125 years of the Cresta Run, is being held until May in the Design GallerySt Moritz. See www.stmoritz.ch.
    Many more pictures of the Lake Parade and Uphill Cresta events can be found in our extensive gallery. Also, do visit the website of official Cresta photographerRyan Larramanwww.crestaphotos.com, where you can order photographs and buy prints of the 125th anniversary celebrations.Text: Jan Baedeker & Tony Dron (himself a wearer of the Shuttlecock Club tie; and for 35 years a member of the St Moritz Tobogganing Club)
    Photos: SMTC (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16), Jason Larraman (6, 8, 11), Max Galli (7, 10)


     The Classic Driver 

    Getting Ready for the Cresta

    The St Moritz Tobogganing Club is an institution like few others. Since 1885, men of courage have dared to plunge head-first on a toboggan down the famous Cresta Run. With the official season opening on 19 December, Classic Driver follows one Cresta rider preparing for the 2012/13 season. 

    Much has been written about the SMTC – most of it inaccurate. This is due, in part, to the careful way the Club protects its members from outside intrusion. It has created the ‘myth’ - but it underplays the hard work of the organising committee and its many Arbeiters to make every Cresta season an unforgettable happening. The construction of the Run (and the installation of timing equipment) involves many day-and-night shifts before it can be officially declared open.



    And that’s just for the Run. Our rider will need a toboggan on which he can rely to complete the 3/4-mile course. Urs Vescoli, himself a very successful skeleton rider with international experience, is one of the few craftsmen in the world who make the special ‘carriages’ for the SMTC. His metalworking workshop is located in the sleepy valley between Zurich and Chur, on the way to St Moritz.
    There are three types of toboggan: American, Traditional and Flat Top. The two most commonly used are the Traditional (with its sliding seat) and the faster Flat Top. We accompanied our rider as he collected his new Traditional (built the same way as it was in the 1930s), and he explained why the sled, which takes many days to make, looks as it does: “It’s pared to the absolute minimum – nothing is surplus”. Every single toboggan is handmade and unique.

    It's hard to imagine descending the ice channel lying on more than 66lb of heavy sleigh, as it, plus the rider, rapidly accelerate on the glassy surface. The rider will quickly reach high speeds, with the ever-present danger of a ‘Cresta Kiss’ – the removal of skin from the face as it makes contact with the icy run – which has left deep scars in some of the riders' faces.
    Clearly, Bentley didn't consider the transportation of Flat Tops when it designed the interior packaging of the latest Continental GTC. It doesn't fit in the boot. So there’s only one thing to do: place the sled in the area behind the front seats. It’s a one-way trip, after all, and the roof is going to stay open. This isn't seen as a problem by the Club Member we are accompanying.


    Arriving in a snowy St Moritz - and entertained by some interesting Cresta stories - we park outside the Junction Hut, the place where the toboggans are stored. ‘Junction’ is the starting point for the intermediate-distance runs. ‘Top’ is 352 yards higher and a run from Top can be made in just over 50 seconds, with an average of around 53mph and a terminal speed at ‘Finish’ of close to 80mph.
    There’s much activity. The huge red safety ‘cushions’ are being put into place at ‘Shuttlecock’, the course’s most famous curve, an accident at which qualifies the rider for membership of the Shuttlecock Club. On average, one in 19 riders will exit at Shuttlecock - hence the 25 safety mats which protect the unlucky from harm. It takes the 12-strong team of experienced Italian and Portuguese course-builders nearly two months to build the Run: first, they build the section from Junction to Finish, which takes just under four weeks. Then, while nine of them support the daily Cresta riding, the remaining members of the team create the section from Top to Junction in around three weeks.


    Together with 'our' Cresta rider, we pass through the metal gates with the hexagonal orange, red and white ‘SMTC’ badge, and cross the threshold to the members-only club. The Clubhouse Dressing Room is where the riders prepare for the run. Alongside the modern racing suits are the traditional wrist, knee and elbow pads that have been used for over 100 years. One can imagine the electric atmosphere here, early on a sharp, icy morning – when the ice is at its best.
    The Club’s predominantly ‘British’ atmosphere is in keeping with the fact that the SMTC is primarily about enjoying oneself, both on the course and, importantly, at social occasions. Not for nothing does the selection committee, when considering a new application for membership, ask itself “Will they be a fun member?” The SMTC is unique, but as long as applicants show courage and are willing to join in with the traditions of the Club and its members, they will always be welcome.
    Related Links

    A history of the Cresta Run: 125 Years of the Cresta Run: Gentlemen, Count Your Bones! 

    The website of the St Moritz Tobogganing Club: www.cresta-run.com

    The website of Urs Vescoli: www.vescoli.com
    Text: J. Philip Rathgen (classicdriver.com)
    Photos: Jan Baedeker