For decades the city has been building and installing temporary outdoor hockey rinks in parks throughout the city every winter, but who knew that they also built snow slides as well? There were such apparatuses in Verdun and Montreal North and surely many others. The construction looks somewhere more elaborate than a hockey rink but the payoff also appears that much more intense.
I confess that I had been entirely unaware that such a structures were ever installed and now am thinking that it'd be pretty amazing if we could get the city to re-commence such installations in the future.
Anybody who knows about these amazing toboggan runs please share in the comments section below.
There used to be many of these tobaggan runs in the province, including one on Mount Royal.
ReplyDeleteJust type in "Montreal Tobaggan Slide" into Google Images.
I suspect they were discontined as skiing became more popular, and possibly also due to increasing injuries.
We used to erect huge ice castles in Montreal as well, but they too fell by the wayside--as no doubt one day there will no longer be any more Montreal Jazz Festival due to cost, union strikes, or lack of interest.
People will become increasing wired into their portable and home devices and won't want to bother exerting themselves unnecessarily.
Like the Romans, we will become a fat, lazy nation of self-centered slobs ripe for the next era of barbarians to kick in the door.
All good things come to an end. :-(
There's still one in Quebec City on the promenade in front of the big Hotel.
ReplyDeleteIn the 50's and 60's, Montreal West had a toboggan slide set up every winter - maybe about half the size of the one in the photo, but a steeper descent. With an icy surface at the base, you could "cruise" for quite a distance.
ReplyDeleteHowever - it did have to compete with the adjacent snow dump which often offered some challenging downhill runs. :-)
Ant6n - funny, I just walked by that very structure three days ago but thought it must've been part of the Red Bull Ice thing, or something like that. It would be awesome to give it a whirl one day.
ReplyDeleteThere were several around Montreal. I have been on some of them. I think there was one near Jarry Park and yes, there was one near Mount Royal. I've been on the Quebec City one several times. Great fun but they were really dangerous sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThe fear of injury and accidental death has changed the way that cities organize their playgrounds, more frequently erecting safer equipment with fewer hard edges such as the old standard wooden swing-seats being replaced by vinyl, and so on.
ReplyDeleteSadly, children are still being injured and even die under bizarre and unexpected circumstances in our parks.
Again, the insurance claims factor comes into play here. (pun intended!)
Update to this topic:
ReplyDeletehttps://ca.news.yahoo.com/only-canada-toboggan-hill-closures-220456441.html
It seems that all it takes now is for some kid to injure himself/herself in order to eliminate fun for everyone else.
The latest fiasco has some parents with peanut-allergic children actually demanding that airlines ban all onboard food containing nut products. Oh, really?
Everyone ought to face the fact that life is full of danger regardless of where you are. Walking on the sidewalk at the wrong place at the wrong time can get you killed. People do slip and fall on the stairs. Going to the beach can get you drowned or potentially attacked by a shark. Must paranoia rule everything we do. Don't our basic five senses protect us from harm most of the time?
Just for the record, several of Montreal's city parks have large mounds or "mini-hills" created for sledding and tobogganing. Some are steeper than others.
Remember the "flying saucer" back in the day? This was a large metal concave dish with handles on both sides which really flew past everything else down hills, particularly when the surface was icy! Not sure if these were eventually banned from production, but I do see similar "saucers" made out of plastic. Hold on, kids, and enjoy! Maybe wear your bicycle helmet if you want to placate your parents. :-)
Addendum to snow-sliding safety:
ReplyDeleteA no-brainer would be for the city to install large, air-inflated barriers at the bottom of very steep hills made out of the type of material one sees during summertime festivals: the kind that kids climb into and over.
They used to put bales of hay against the fence at the bottom of the hill near the corner of Mount Royal Blvd. and Park Avenue but I believe even this hill has been closed to sliders.
As a kid, I remember sliding down Fletcher's field in a southbound direction just south of the gazebo where a nice, easy slope exists--or at least used to exist. With a little work, this could be rejuvenated, thus allowing a safer and much longer riding experience.