# My Winter Hobby. (Luge 2011)



## Up State NY Camper (Apr 7, 2010)

I thought I would share my winter time passion with you guys. (the main reason I havn't been around this winter) I've been building Luges for 9 years. Every year it gets bigger. Two years ago it made national news when CNN and Fox picked up our local tv stations story. I hope you enjoy it.

Here is my Youtube station I just created two weeks ago. I'll be adding videos from previous years Luges so if you like what you see, bookmark it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/BackyardLuge?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/D_hti_6q02A

Here is the story our local tv station did two years ago.

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/Not_your_ordinary_backyard_20090131

Here is the local news paper video. You get a front seat ride down the 2009 Luge.

http://video.buffalonews.com/player/index.php?id=104


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## TexanThompsons (Apr 21, 2009)

Very nice indeed! I'm too much of a fraidy-cat for that. Fast speed and sharp edges just don't seem to be worth the rush for this good ol' country boy.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

VERY cool, indeed!! Bet you get the "Coolest Dad of the Year" award!!


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## Joonbee (Jan 18, 2008)

that may the coolest winter time backyard I have ever seen. Think I would start missing work if had that at my beckoned call.

Jim


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## Up State NY Camper (Apr 7, 2010)

Thanks guys. It is very fun. That's what drives me to do it. The most common comment I get from people who have seen it in person and on film is pictures and video do not do it justice.

This year, the shute was almost 30 feet high, the run was around 325 feet long, and the whole thing gets iced up. We take plastic saucer sleds down, and I would say on a fast night, we're getting close to 30 mph. That doesn't sound fast, but in a plastic sled, on a sheet of ice, it feels fast.







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## duggy (Mar 17, 2010)

That is awesome! 10 or 12 years ago, our next door neighbor built a run about 150 feet long with about 25 feet drop. He didn't even have kids, but our kids loved it. His was a lot less work than yours, because the land had about 20 feet of fall, running out onto the lake, and he just built up the top five feet.

He was an outside of the box thinker. One day when our lake rink was a little rough, he took the wheels off an old lawnmower, and was running it around the rink, shaving off the high spots.

As a footnote, he was the father of Blackberry founder, Jim Balsillie.


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## Up State NY Camper (Apr 7, 2010)

duggy said:


> That is awesome! 10 or 12 years ago, our next door neighbor built a run about 150 feet long with about 25 feet drop. He didn't even have kids, but our kids loved it. His was a lot less work than yours, because the land had about 20 feet of fall, running out onto the lake, and he just built up the top five feet.
> 
> He was an outside of the box thinker. One day when our lake rink was a little rough, he took the wheels off an old lawnmower, and was running it around the rink, shaving off the high spots.
> 
> As a footnote, he was the father of Blackberry founder, Jim Balsillie.


It's suprising how many people build Backyard Luges. I wish I had a hill to work with. Getting the snow up that high is a tough task. But on the other hand, there is no big hill to walk up. Just 32 steps.


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