Rupert Lycett Green first did the Cresta Run in 1951, aged 13. He did it again this winter, aged 84 – a record gap between runs
Aged 13, I came second in the Baron Oertzen Handicap on the Cresta Run in 1951. I was taken to St Moritz, Switzerland, by my stepfather, Ralph, Lord Grimthorpe, a famous Cresta rider himself. I had hurt my ankle in a skiing fall but could still run and jump onto a toboggan. Riding the Cresta is sliding down an iced toboggan run at more than 70mph, lying on your tummy with your face a couple of inches from the ice, on what looks like a large tea tray on runners. In fact, the toboggan – or ‘skeleton’ – under you is a steel structure on which much thought, money and effort have been expended over the years to get its rider to the Run’s finish in the fastest-possible time. The skeleton’s rounded runners are slightly bowed for speed on the straights, and sharpened into knives towards the back to help...
I’m afraid this isn’t one of our four free articles available in full, which are set out in the first two rows of the ‘Magazine’ page.
Please click here to find them.
To buy a digital version of this issue for just £2.99, click here
