'Not as scary as it looks': This backyard luge track is 150 metres long with 13 turns
Shane Ross | CBC News | Posted: February 22, 2017 9:00 PM | Last Updated: February 22, 2017
'I get sad when it gets warm knowing that soon the luge will be melting away'
At least one community in P.E.I. is in no hurry to see winter come to an end.
For the past four years, they've been gathering with their sleighs at a home-made luge track on a neighbour's backyard in Queen's County.
But this is not your grandma's backyard luge track. It's 150 metres long, has 13 hairpin turns with high, sculpted banks and is even lit up at night.
"It's not as scary as it looks," said 10-year-old Brennan Verhult.
On chilly winter nights, dozens of people — from two-year-olds on a parent's lap to seniors not willing to be outdone — take turns zipping down the icy track, hooting and hollering all the way to the end.
It's awesome to see the excitement in their faces when they hit the bottom. - Vanessa Foster, neighbour
"It's awesome to see the excitement in their faces when they hit the bottom and they sprint up the hill as fast as they can to get back down again," said Vanessa Foster, who lives nearby.
"It's definitely part of the highlight of the winter that I look forward to."
Location kept private
But not everybody gets to enjoy it. Because of liability concerns, the owner of the property did not want the location disclosed, preferring to limit access to just friends and people in the community as a place to socialize.
Those that do get to go, savour every minute, Foster said.
"People that I know think I'm crazy because I get sad when it gets warm knowing that soon the luge will be melting away."
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