CREDIT: ARTUR DIDYK
Luge and skeleton are just a couple of the extreme winter sports that shine around this time of year.

As the weather gets colder, many sports are either finishing off for the winter season or moving indoors to continue. Meanwhile, the time for winter sports has come. Everyone knows the classics like hockey, skiing, and snowboarding but what about the others?

The Winter Olympic games have incorporated some of these sports into their daily events and watching them is thrilling due to how bizarre and daring they are. Here are some uncommon winter sports for you to check out this season.

Luge/Skeleton


Starting off the list is luge and skeleton, which both come from the country of Switzerland. They are time-based sports where a rider must push themselves from the start of a long, windy ice track and gain enough momentum to beat the set time.

Riders typically reach speeds of 80-90km/h. In luge, riders begin sitting on their sleds and lie down on their backs as they ride out the entire course. Skeleton requires the riders to begin in a standing position where they then sprint to gain speed, jump on top of their sleds and lay on their stomachs, headfirst down the track.

A typical track for luge and skeleton ranges between 1,300m to 1,500m in distance with parts of the course that go up and down along with sharp turns and steep angles. Courses are also fitted with crash pads to help minimize hard impact for the riders.

Riders are outfitted with specialized helmets so that they can see from the difficult positions they are in to control their sled. Their bodysuits are built with padded material but are also thin and tight to help keep the riders’ aerodynamic integrity at high speeds.

Canada is home to one of the 17 courses in the world, located in Whistler, British Columbia.

Biathlon

This one is an unusual mix of two opposite sports but has come to be a beloved one to watch. Biathlon takes the challenge of cross-country skiing and matches it up with one’s marksmanship skill.

The sport originates from Scandinavian countries that once used it for military exercises to train and prepare their soldiers for snow combat. In the 1960s, the exercise was then taken and transformed into a sport for the Winter Olympics.

The sport tests the physical and mental capabilities of the athletes, exerting them to all lengths. Biathlon has different race formats that combine both racing and shooting in different ways.

During the race, athletes are required to either shoot standing up or lying down and cover about 12km in distance on their skis. Athletes use 22. calibre rifles that weigh close to eight pounds.

As peculiar as this sport seems, it has gained massive popularity in Europe and has its own world championship that is held annually.

Crashed ice

Although this sporting event has been discontinued, it would be a disservice to not mention this sport as being one of the most insane creations of the 21st century. Crashed ice was created back in 2001 by two Canadian brothers and was picked up by Red Bull.

Similar to luge and skeleton, this sport takes place on an ice track with humps and sharp curves to throw a challenge at the participants. Four participants go head-to-head with one another as they fight to reach the finish line to clinch first place.

Racers are outfitted in some gear that is used in hockey, while other areas of their gear are more padded to protect the racers from extreme impact. Hockey skates are also favoured in this sport as they are more durable and reliable due to the material they’re made out of.

The design of the course is meant to throw around the participants and give the audience a good show of action. The racers go as fast as 50km/h on the ice. Other than racing, Red Bull also created a freestyle version of the sport where athletes can showcase off tricks and are scored in a similar style to snowboard freestyle competitions.

While these are only a few examples of extreme winter sports, it goes without saying that once the cold weather arrives, there are many athletes who come out of the shadows to showcase how big of a dare devil they are by participating in these extreme sports.