By Greg Anzelc

The fastest NHL skater at the 2003 All Star Game Skills Competition was the Wild’s Marian Gaborik. Gabby circled the ice in an amazing 13.713 seconds; by the standard of any hockey player, that’s absolutely flying. But imagine skating around the rink not once, but four times, and doing so in half of the time that it would take Gaborik based on his record speed.

Before thinking that there is no way this could be done, what if you were able to skate downhill? Sounding more like a possibility? How about downhill, with three other skaters, navigating sharp turns, steep jumps and vertical drop-offs? Well then again, maybe not?



This curiosity and test of speed, skating skill, confidence and agility was challenged in Prague last month at the sixth annual Red Bull Crashed Ice. Although the name Red Bull Crashed Ice alone is a pretty good indicator of what you could expect at this event, even the participants were in awe of what awaited them.

Constructed nearly 40 feet above the historic city streets stood the start of one of the newest and wildest ice skating events that could only be described as a total adrenaline sport. The starting gates launched the competitors — nearly all of whom were hockey players wearing hockey skates — at full stride down the beginning of an incredible journey that, at speeds of more than 30 miles per hour, zipped them down a race course full of hair-pin turns, table-top jumps, drop-offs and, if still standing, across a finish line.

Included in the group of racers was former Minnesota Gopher hockey player Charlie Wasley who described Crashed Ice as “the wildest roller coaster ride that I’ve ever been on.”

“In hockey you worry about other players checking you into the boards,” said Wasley. “In Crashed Ice you only have to worry about crashing yourself into the boards. But you are skating so fast downhill, up and over jumps and through tight corners that, compared to hockey, staying off of the boards is a much greater challenge.”



The Crashed Ice Challenge
It’s simple, get to the bottom first. After exploding out of the gate, racers skated full-stride downhill from heights providing level views into third-story windows of the Prague Castle. Then, a test of gallantry, speed and stability awaited skaters at the end of the starting ramp as they fell from a three-foot drop-off followed by a sharp, banked turn.

While many skaters were sent flying through the air like Bobby Orr after The Goal in the 1970 Stanley Cup, those lucky enough to still be in full stride had the momentum to exit the corner and race up a 15-foot ramp. On top of the ramp was a “table top,” followed by a 15-foot ramp down the back side. Many racers jumped over the table top and landed on the down side, which headed into another banked corner and ultimately shot them down a street with an incredibly steep grade.

But as steep as the street was, it was overshadowed by jumps, humps and bumps that created the real challenges for the racers. The table-top jump at the start of this steep hill was yet another test of the racers, speed and stability before it sent them into a second drop-off jump. Then, with only another 30 yards before the final turn into the finish line, another table-top jump had to be navigated with great speed and control. This third table-top proved to be the final standing place for many racers who came into it completely out of control after barely surviving the previous jumps.
The final turn of the race before the finish of the quarter-mile track sent skaters over one final table-top jump and a last drop-off jump, which brought them back to street level. This treacherous stretch of the track sent more than one out-of-control racer slamming into, and sometimes through, the protective boards.

Rules require protection for the racers equal to that of full hockey gear. Although hockey pants can protect players skating at 20 miles per hour or so — which would be the speed of a fast skater on a hockey rink — skating down-hill at these incredible speeds resulted in at least one ambulance ride for a racer. Wasley escaped with only a bruise.

“But it’s the deepest and biggest bruise that I’ve ever had,” said a smiling Wasley.



A New Race In A Historic City
The breathtaking city of Prague is considered to be the Golden City of the Czech Republic, with one of the focal points being the historic Charles Bridge that was built in 1357. So how did it come to be that a downhill ice skating track would rise amidst all of this history and architectural glory?

It all started with Stefan Aufschnaiter, a fearless extreme skater whose combined love of ice and speed led him and a friend to the top of a luge track.

“The lugers looked at me like I was crazy because I had never before been down the track,” said Aufschnaiter, who each year is the mastermind behind the design of the Crashed Ice track. “They also found it odd that I was going down it on ice skates. But they told me in what direction the track went after the first turn, and I said good-bye and down I went.”

You might say that it was at this moment that the Crashed Ice event was born. Each year for the past six years, races have been at the mercy of Aufschnaiter as he tries to constantly increase the “fun factor” of the track.

“I look at the ramps, jumps, turns and hills and only try to imagine how fast you will be going,” says Aufschnaiter. “Once the track starts to be built it is only then that we can’t tweak some things.”

Prior to Prague, races had been held at ski resorts using the existing snow base (the last two races were held at Spirit Mountain in Duluth), but this couldn’t be done in the Czech Republic, where average January temperatures are in the mid-30s Fahrenheit. Sparing no expense, Red Bull contracted for a complete refrigeration system to be brought in to make artificial ice. This process included the installation of refrigeration coils that ran from the starting ramp, up and over the jumps, through turns and all the way to the finish line.

“Artificial ice made the track harder and potentially faster than past years,” said Wasley. “But the ice still gets ruts in it, which — along with the jumps, steep hills and sharp turns — becomes a huge factor on race day.”


The Golden Gopher In The Golden City
Wasley still plays hockey at least twice a week with the Senior A Minneapolis Bucks team that has won several USA Hockey National Championships. Prior to joining the Bucks, Wasley skated with the Minnesota Blue Ox, a professional inline hockey team, and before that, he had a four-year career at the University of Minnesota, where, not surprisingly, he earned the team’s Most Determined Player award his senior year.

“Hockey is really the reason why I am here competing in this race,” said Wasley, who relies heavily on his skating ability, balance and powerful stride in the Crashed Ice race. “I can skate well and think that I have an advantage over other skaters because I have participated in the event in the past. Also, as a defenseman in hockey, I have the mentality that no one is getting past me.

“When I look back at my hockey experiences, including traveling to Japan with a USA Hockey Select Team, I can see a direct connection between what I am doing now and those experiences. I guess you will never know where hockey will lead you, and me being here in Prague competing in this awesome event is proof that you should continue playing hockey as long as you can. If I would have quit playing, I probably wouldn’t be in this race.”


The Crashed Ice Race
The purse in the Red Bull Crashed Ice event is $5,000. The first-place finisher receives $2,500, or about 57,500 Czech Crowns, which is equal to about the average month’s salary in the Czech Republic. Needless to say, the local skaters showed up ready to race.

Standing between the racers and the prize money, however, was the treacherous downhill track and 64 excellent skaters, all wanting to get to the bottom first. Most notable was Sweden’s Jasper Felder, the five-time, and only, champion of Crashed Ice. (Felder also has dual U.S. citizenship and has played on the U.S. Bandy Team.) Wasley lost in the semifinals last year to Felder, and then again in the finals two years ago, when he had his career-best fourth-place finish.

To get a shot at Felder and the title, the 100 racers who qualified for Crashed Ice competed in individual time trials. The fastest 64 racers made it into the field and were placed in heats competing in groups of four, with the top two in each heat advancing.

The 10,000 fans congregated in the square at the foot of the Prague Castle, and around the finish line, were treated to incredible displays of speed, power, balance and skating ability as the field quickly narrowed with each passing heat. While rules do not allow skaters to grab, hold or bump other racers, the sheer speed of the skaters combined with the difficulty of the course make contact almost unavoidable.

When the ice shavings finally settled, the final heat featured the five-time defending champion Felder, who had pulled a groin the day before in practice runs. Although that may have offered some additional hope for the remaining three racers, it would be Felder who ultimately skated away with his sixth consecutive Crashed Ice title.
Wasley, meanwhile, had taken second in his first heat and advanced to the field of 32. About a quarter of the way through his second run, however, he caught a rut and slid down the backside of the table-top jump at the top of the course.

By the time he got back on his feet, the lead skaters were entering the third and final turn. Although he was clearly disappointed with his spill, the thrill of the race is what Wasley will remember.

“Crashed Ice is by far the biggest adrenaline rush that you could have, and to go from hockey to this is just an awesome ride.” Then, speaking like a true hockey player already looking ahead to the next season after untying his skates for the final time, Wasley continued, “This event is so cool that I already can’t wait to see what Red Bull will have us skating down next year. Crashed Ice is so unlike any other skating that I’ve done that once you get the guts to do it, there is no way you’re not coming back.”


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