Tobogganing 101: Make safety as much of a priority as fun
Tobogganing is a great winter adventure, but it’s not without its risks.
Let’s face it, you’re never too old to slide down a hill on whatever goes fast. It’s even better if there’s lots of snow. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve trudged a sled up a Toronto hill and then threw myself down that same hill. Also, even better if it was covered in snow.
Tobogganing is a great winter adventure, but it’s not without its risks—and mitigating those is both a personal and municipal issue.
Toronto has 26 different parks with designated sledding hills scattered throughout the different areas of the city, from Centennial Hill in the west to Greenwood Park in the east end. I wanted to find out more about the hills in Toronto so I talked to Goran Mitrevski, Manager of Scarborough Parks for the City of Toronto about how the City makes the hills as safe as they can.
“We do inspect the toboggan hills at the beginning of the season and weekly thereafter,” said Mitrevsk. “We’re trying to make sure that the surface and conditions are not hazardous. If we do find obstructions, we remove them immediately and we make sure that signage is posted, there and visible.”
This is especially important as the recent snowfalls have created ideal conditions in the Greater Toronto Area for tobogganing down hills. Toronto is tucked in closely along the shores of Lake Ontario which keeps the majority of the city away from traditionally snow squall-hit areas like Barrie. This means that the City doesn’t always have snow around for sledding. However, this year, that’s changed in just one snowstorm on January 17th. Combined with temperatures that have stayed below freezing, the hills have never been more accessible.
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Mitrevsk continues, “We also have additional safety measures in place such as snow fencing and straw bales. So, if we do have situations where we have, for example, soccer posts at the bottom of the hill, we do wrap those in straw bales.”
However, it’s not just the City’s responsibility to keep everything safe. Everyone (including me!) has to take reasonable precautions when sledding. A good idea is to wear protective headgear and dress for the conditions.
Given the speed at which a sled can get going down some of the steeper hills, a helmet is nearly essential, but not yet legally required at city parks. You can get helmets at most sporting good stores and aren’t prohibitively expensive. I would suggest using the same helmets that skiers use as they’re designed for the same impacts on a hill as you might have when sledding. Bike helmets might be better than nothing, but they’re designed for a different sort of impact and aren’t recommended.
Dressing properly is key and the usual advice is layers, lots of layers. In this case, you have to deal with not only the cold of sliding down a hill in subzero temperatures, but also the sweating you’re going to do pulling the sled back up the hill. If you’ve layered yourself with a thin inner, a medium middle and a jacket, you’ll be able to pull off some of the layers to keep yourself cool as you get your cardio in by pulling the sled, and then wrap back up for the cold (and yet gloriously fun) ride back down.
Mitrevski had a few other cautions. “We recommend that you kneel or sit on your toboggan, don’t stand up! Don’t lie down head-first and only go when your route is clear. Walk up the side of the hill to ensure your safety and so you’re not blocking the run for others.”
Mitrevski also mentioned that most of the hills are not lit at night so going after dark is not recommended. In addition, sledding during melting, or icy conditions can lead to unexpected outcomes so try to keep your sledding to days of snow or even during snowstorms. I actually love going sledding when it’s snowing like crazy, but I chase tornadoes for fun.
You can help keep the hills safe, as well. If you’re out sledding and you find anything out of place or in need of repair, you can call 311. For full information visit www.toronto.ca.
Happy sledding...and remember, winter won’t last much longer so get out there!
