A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the pod. Racing sleds weigh 21–25 kg (46–55 lb) for singles and 25–30 kg (55–66 lb) for doubles. Luge is also the name of an Olympic sport that employs that sled and technique.
Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Playing areas and fields consist of either snow or ice.
Bobsleigh or Bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, also known as FIBT from the French Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing. National competitions are often governed by bodies such as the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, and the German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation.
Arnold Koller is a Swiss professor and politician. He served as a member of the Federal Council (Switzerland) from 1987 to 1999 for the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP). Koller previously served as a member of the National Council (Switzerland) from 1971 to 1986. He did also serve two terms of the as President of the Swiss Confederation in 1990 and 1997. He is primarily known for Lex Koller, a Swiss Federal Act on Acquisitions of Real Estate by Persons Abroad, which he initiated.
Skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled, down a frozen track while lying face down and head-first. The sport and the sled may have been named from the bony appearance of the sled.
St. Moritz is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about 1,800 metres (5,910 ft) above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.
Sledding, sledging or sleighing is a winter sport typically carried out in a prone or seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sled, a sledge (British), or a sleigh. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, skeleton and bobsledding. When practised on sand, it is known as a form of sandboarding. In Russia sledges are used for maritime activities including fishing and commuting from island to island on ice.
The Federal Diet of Switzerland was the legislative and executive council of the Old Swiss Confederacy and existed in various forms from the beginnings of Swiss independence until the formation of the Swiss federal state in 1848.
The Badrutt's Palace Hotel is a historic luxury hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The hotel opened in 1896 and has 155 rooms, of which 43 are suites. The majority shareholder is Anikó Badrutt.
The Olympia Bob Run St. Moritz-Celerina is a bobsleigh track located in the Engadin Valley, Switzerland. It officially opened on New Year's Day 1904 and is the oldest bobsleigh track in the world. It is also the only one that is naturally refrigerated. It is used for other sliding sports, including skeleton and luge.
Events from 1848 in Switzerland.
Rageth Abys (1790–1861) was a Swiss politician, merchant, and soldier.
The Kulm Hotel St. Moritz is a large historic hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Johannes Baur was an Austrian businessman who opened the first hotel in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1838. Baur en Ville still operates in Zürich's Paradeplatz today.
Johannes Badrutt was a Swiss businessman, hotelier and restaurateur. He was primarily known for bringing the first English tourists to St. Moritz during the 19th century. He was the founder of Kulm Hotel St. Moritz in 1855. Badrutt's second eldest son was Caspar Badrutt. He is the patriarch of the Badrutt family.
Oscar Robert Kambly also known as Oskar Kambly was a Swiss businessman, biscuit manufacturer and founder of Kambly, a Swiss biscuit manufacturer, in 1910. He was also a co-founder of soft cheese manufacturer E. Baer & Co in Küssnacht am Rigi in 1922 and owner of the Blausee AG, operating company of a historic hotel and farm, since 1925.
Gustav Adolf Bühler commonly referred to as Adolf Bühler Jr. was a Swiss industrialist, philanthropist and politician. He was the eldest son of Adolf Bühler and majority owner of Bühler Brothers. Bühler served on the Cantonal Council of St. Gallen from 1898 to 1906 for the Free Radical Liberals. He was a member of the Bühler family.
Max René Bühler was a Swiss businessman, industrialist and politician. He served on the National Council (Switzerland) for the Free Democratic Party (FDP) between 1951 and 1959. He previously served on the municipal council of Uzwil between 1948 and 1951.
Franz Saurer was a German-born Swiss industrialist who founded the company which ultimately became the Adolph Saurer concern. He was also responsible for the positive economic development of the Arbon region. Through his estate his descendants endowed funds to build the city park of Arbon. He was the patriarch of the Saurer family.
