Cresta Run

The sport of intramural[clarification needed] sled racing originated in winter resort activities at the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz during the early 1870s.

Both evolving sports were natural extensions of the invention of steerable sleds during the early 1870s by British guests of the Kulm hotel in St. Moritz.

The initial crude sleds were developed almost accidentally—as bored well-to-do gentlemen naturally took to intramural competition in the streets and byways of mountainous downtown St. Moritz posing a risk to each other and pedestrians alike.

This gave impetus to steering the sleds, and soon runners and a primitive mechanism evolved to allow some steerage along the longer curving streets of the 1870s.

Local views varied, but eventually complaints grew louder and Kulm hotel owner Caspar Badrutt built the first natural ice run for his guests, as part of his efforts to popularize wintering in the mountain resort, while careful not to lose customers to boredom, nor his workforce to injury from errant sleds on the streets.

The exclusion of women from the course, which was enforced until December 2018, dates from the late 1920s and was instituted because of injuries to female racers and the wholly incorrect belief that excessive sledding caused breast cancer.

On the other hand, modern Skeleton sliding requires much less movement on the toboggan, and the sleds are generally speaking more flexible and sensitive than those for the Cresta.

This is in order to achieve greater grip, as unlike in modern Skeleton which takes place on Bob-Runs, one can exit the Cresta Run at numerous points if they are going too fast or are out of control.

The sliding seat allows riders to move back on the toboggan prior to entry of Shuttlecock to place more weight on the knives, therefore gaining greater control and grip.

As a result, the secretariat requires riders to achieve consistent rides of 48 seconds from Junction on a Traditional in order to convert to a flat-top.

The primary purpose of the 1300 member club founded in 1887 is "…the conduct of races and practice on the Cresta Run and the encouragement of tobogganing generally".

Prominent presidents have included Constantin von Liechtenstein, Gianni Agnelli, Gunther Sachs, Sir Dudley Cunliffe-Owen, Rolf Sachs, Lord Dalmeny, Graf Luca Marenzi, Marc M. K. Fischer, Lord Wrottesley, Jonny Seccombe and Sven Ley.

Boorum started too fast and slid into Church Leap at such a speed that he crashed at the Shuttlecock, was hit by his toboggan and died from a fractured skull that evening.

In 2019 Carina Evans, of Britain, became the first woman to descend the Cresta Run from Top since the ban on women riders was lifted in 2018.