The Science of Sledding Tracks

I love sledding and for a few years now I've been building a track in the yard every winter. Here is what I've learned. (It's a slippery slope :) )

Straight Track

A straight track is easy to build.
However, if you put more snow on the track, the sides need to be higher because otherwise the sled will slip to the side, to the lower snow.

Make the Track Icy

The more you sled over the track the smoother and icier it gets.
Building the track when the snow is wet(temperatures above 0 degrees celcius) and it freezes because the temperature drops, makes the fastest/iciest tracks.
However, purring water over the track is not as effective because the water runs down into the snow and it takes forever for it to freeze because the snow insulates.

Split the Track into 2 Path

If you want a split in the track, it only works if its right after a turn and that one path is taken if low speed and the other if fast. You need a turn to make a split because if the split itself is the turn the start of the turn is not there because the other path is in the way.

Turns

If you go slow you can make a sharper turn. If you are too fast you fly over.
If you need to improve a turn the turn needs to start earlier so that the turn becomes less sharp.

Merging 2 Path

You need to make the 2 path you want to merge become parallel and then you can easily merge them. The part where they are parallel can be very small so that it looks like they merge right away.
Merging is easiest done when both are straight but if you have a turn and then a slope down you can cheat and merge in the turn because the sled will go down the slope even if it does not have a wall to help it turn.

In the picture above one path makes a very gentle turn while the other first continues straight and then makes a sharp turn to merge back. Since there is a slope I can merge at the turn on top of the slope.

Merging 2 path at a turn

In the picture above I am merging right before the bottom of the slope. Once again I am using the slope to be able to merge at a turn. But this time it's a little bit different because the merger starts before the turn.

Initially I made a track with a 90 degree turn because there is a small slope but then there is a rose bush. For sleadboarding(thats what I call standing on the sled) its quite thrilling but if you sit on the sled its to sharp because you can have a run-up before sitting. So I made a second entry on the side which makes the track go sideways to the rosebush, so no turn at all. This merger of 2 paths right before a turn only works because the hill slope still supports the turning. The start of the turn is still on the slope so as you start turning you still go further down so the slope acts as a sidewall even if the straight track enters at that spot.

Snow is free building material falling from the sky(literally) and I cant wait to build with it again this winter.
Happy Sledding

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