Some sort of instinct takes over, and I find myself banking turns in spite of myself. I lean to the side and drag one mitten in the snow like a rudder. Fortunately, the learning curve is steeper than the slope, and I manage to maneuver a veritable EKG of turns without ramming my fellow sledders or launching myself over the edge of the track. The end of the sled run feeds directly into the narrow streets of the upper fringes of Davos. I keep on sledding, past parked cars and elderly couples walking arm in arm in the snow.
Nobody seems surprised to see an adult sledding down the middle of the road.
Mary Roach is a contributing editor at Health magazine. She lives in San Francisco. For more columns by Roach, click on her archives. A distinguished Mexican novelist reflects on Thomas Mann, Zurich and the imagination of Europe. All rights reserved.