Bobsled and skeleton in Park City, Utah

Sporting chance: For some, there's the spa. For others, the best way to relieve stress is by banging around in a bobsled, feeling 5 Gs of force. And if that doesn't rattle your bones enough, you can launch headfirst on a skeleton ride. Since hosting the Salt Lake City 2002 Games, the Utah Olympic Park in Park City has continued to draw top sliders for training and competition. But everyone else above the age of 16 can take a turn on the bobsled track, too: A trained pilot (phew!) leads one to three passengers through 15 curves at 80 miles per hour. For an even more intense experience, anyone over 14 and brave enough to go solo on a sled—belly down so that your chin nearly scrapes the ice—can try skeleton. Hooked? Enroll in Utah Olympic Park's bobsled and skeleton driving school.

Training tip: Throw some push-ups and sprints into your gym routine. The key to success on the sliding tracks is a good start, which involves sprinting fast and pushing hard.

Learning curve: Relatively shallow. It takes about two years for a bobsled or skeleton athlete to get to a competitive level, according to Utah Olympic Park officials. And if you were fast in high school track, good news: Many bobsled and skeleton athletes are former track and field standouts.

Comet bobsled rides are generally available Tuesdays through Saturdays for $200 per person; public skeleton rides are available on most Saturdays for $50 per person; reservations are required. The driving school, March 2–6 in 2010, is $600 per person.

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