Lake Placid Sliding Center History

The Lake Placid sliding track, the second-oldest in the world, has hosted two Winter Olympics, thirteen World Sliding Championships, two FISU University Games, and multiple World Cups in all disciplines, as well as Junior World Championships, National, North American, and Pan-American Championships, and International and National Bobsled-Skeleton Push Championships.

1930-1978

After Lake Placid won the bid to host the third Olympic Winter Games in 1932, South Meadow Mountain, now known as Mount Van Hoevenberg, was selected as the site of the first bobsled run in North America.

Construction on the Bobsled track in the lates 1920's for the Olympic Winter Games in 1932.
Construction on the Bobsled track in the late 1920’s for the Olympic Winter Games in 1932. Photo courtesy Lake Placid Olympic Museum

Late in the spring of 1930, the Polish engineer and famed track designer Stanislaus Zentzytzki was hired to design a mile and a half, twenty-six-curve earthen track following the contours of the north slope of the mountain. Henry Homburger of Saranac Lake oversaw the construction.

Once construction began in August 1930, earth and rock were moved to build the run, which was dug and blasted out of rock and forest. The Mt Van Hoevenberg bobsled run was originally 1.5 miles long, constructed of earth on the straights, and the highest curves were built of stone laid between wooden ribbing.

Following the tradition of European tracks, each curve was given a name. Whiteface, Shady, Little S, and Zig Zag soon became respected and feared curves throughout the world.

The 1932 Olympic Winter Games utilized a 1 ½-mile track, including the treacherous Whiteface curve. Eventually, due to the dangers of the Whiteface hairpin turn, the track was shortened to one mile in time for the 1939 Bobsled World Championships. During the 1932 Games, the two-man sled was introduced, and the four-man became standard. The United States took gold and silver in both the two-man and four-man sleds.

In 1940, the AAU reopened bobsledding to women, but it was short-lived. Following Katherine Dewey driving her co-ed sled to victory in the national championships that year, the AAU banned women from competing in bobsled. In the 1940s, bobsled clubs were established representing towns from throughout the region, from which US international teams were drawn. In the 1960s, the US Air Force, Marines, and Navy all developed bobsled teams.

In 1956, Art Tyler, a driver and member of the Adirondack Bobsled Club and an engineer at Eastman Kodak, utilized wind tunnels and other engineering techniques to enhance the aerodynamics and performance of his custom-designed and built sleds. His sleds were the first to feature articulated front and rear ends.

In 1959, Pee Wee Bobsledding was established in Lake Placid by US Olympian Fred Fortune, who designed and built the sleds.

1978 – 1999

 

In 1973, refrigeration was added to the finish curve, and in 1979, the entire one-mile track was reconstructed with concrete and refrigeration for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. In 1979, a separate refrigerated track was constructed for luge, representing the only time a separate track was required; in the future, all sliding events used the same track.

In the 1970s, women began sliding initially from the half-mile. The first woman licensed driver since Katherine Dewey was Lynn VanArman, who ended up driving or braking recreationally for the Plattsburgh Bobsled Club. Lois Hollan, Lisa Yanchitis, and Betsy Napier followed soon after establishing unsanctioned races at the track with the initial support of Olympians Allan Hachigian and Boris (Bob) Said.

In 1983, Lake Placid, hosting the World Bobsled Championships, held the first sanctioned all-women’s bobsled race since 1940.

In 1991, USA Luge constructed an off-site, indoor, refrigerated start training facility for luge. In 1992, Race driver Geoff Bodine founded the USA Bobsled Project to apply race-car design principles to designing and constructing bobsleds. He established a partnership with Chassis Dynamics. Together, they created the Bo-Dyn sled.

In 1994, the USBSF decided to promote women’s bobsledding, establishing Lake Placid as the lead training center for women.

 

Luge Athlete Sliding Down the Track
Luge Athlete Sliding Down the Combined Track which opened in 2000.

1999-2019

 

In 1999, the luge track was removed, and the original bobsled track was shortened to half a mile in length as construction began on a new one-mile combined bobsled, luge, and skeleton track. The combined track, which opened in 2000, is considered one of the most technically challenging tracks for sliders across all disciplines. Extensive work was undertaken to improve the track, including the installation of a covering system to protect it from the elements, upgrades to the refrigeration system, and the addition of spectator viewing areas.

In 2012-14, Para bobsled athletes began training in Lake Placid, with Lake Placid hosting its first Para World Cup in 2017

 

2019 –2025

In 2019, Lake Placid hosted the World Para Bobsledding Championships as well began a major venue overhaul in preparation for the upcoming 2023 FISU World Winter Games. A new centralized lodge and public building containing an indoor refrigerated start facility for Bobsled and Skeleton was built.

A cross-country skier at the 2023 FISU games, representing USA, is skiing downhill.
A cross-country skier at the 2023 FISU games.

In 2020, USA Luge renovated and significantly expanded the size of its indoor training facility. Also in 2020, the Cliffside Coaster, the longest mountain coaster in the United States, was opened. The Coaster follows the route of the 1932 track, providing riders with a narrated history of sliding sports in Lake Placid.

In December 2022, the IBSF World Push Championships were held at the new indoor start track within the Mountain Pass Lodge. The competition included two-women and two-man bobsled, four-man bobsled, women’s monobob, and men and women’s skeleton.

These additions and upgrades significantly elevated Lake Placid’s relevance in the Sliding Sports World for the foreseeable future. Upgrades are scheduled to continue during 2025-6, including improvements to the track covering and refrigeration systems, as well as visitor viewing stations.