Greatest distance by sled/toboggan in 12 hours: 210 km

Why did I decided to attempt this record and any background of the event:

I am a capital markets lawyer in Vienna, a nature lover and mountain athlete and in winter 2017/2018 I discovered tobogganing as a new hobby with an unexpected dimension. Iwanted to show my Chinese girlfriend (my wife now) the beauty of the Alps in winter. She can't ski. Alternatives? Yes, why not go tobogganing! The spontaneous idea turned into an alpine tour through Italy, Switzerland and Austria that took us to 18 different toboggan runs in The Alps. And then, February 2023: It was my love to the alpine nature that has led me since winter 2017/2018 to 68 different toboggan runs between Semmering (Austria) and Matterhorn (Switzerland)! The last highlight of my tobogganing experiences was on 16th December 2023, when I achieved the record title: “Greatest continuous descent by toboggan“. On that day I tobogganed from Marmolada - the highest mountain area of The Dolomites - without a stop from the Punta Rocca cable car station (3241 m) 1787 m (5862 ft) down to Malga Ciapela, Belluno, Italy (1454 m).
Towards the end of August 2024, the idea of something new and very exciting came up: Why not to set a new record with the toboggan, which is totally different from the spectacular downhill that I did in The Dolomites. What about the record attempt: “Greatest distance by sled/toboggan in 12 hours.” I knew that Austria had the second longest toboggan run in the world in the Wildkogel Arena Bramberg & Neukirchen ski resort. That long-distance toboggan run is extraordinary, because it starts right next to the mountain station of a cable car (Smaragdbahn) and ends right next to the valley station of that cable car in Bramberg. In addition, the entire downhill can be done without any obstacles and is also illuminated in the dark. The distance between
the cable car stations and the toboggan run is extremely short. The combination of the 2nd longest toboggan run in the world and the cable car “Smaragdbahn” seemed for me the best conditoons for being able to ride a distance of about 200 kilometers in 12 hours.

Description of the event and preparations

On 30th October 2024, I contacted Wildkogel Arena Bramberg & Neunkirchen Mountain Railways manager Bernhard Gruber, whether it would be possible to make the attempt with them and he agreed. It was important to me that the cable car was in operation for 12 hours. On 14th January 2025, Guinness Book of Records informed me that my application for the record has been accepted under the title: “Greatest distance by sled/toboggan in 12 hours”. I was really glad and immediately dealt with the rulebook. According to the rules, I immediately sent an inquiry to Guinness Book of Records to confirm that my toboggan complies with their rules and started to deal with all the details of my project.

Next step was to find at least four witnesses who I needed for the project according to the Guinness Book of Records Regulation. I was successful, found enough local guys around Bramberg, who were interested. Then I worked intensively on the organization of the project and planned everything down to the smallest detail. It was
particularly important to think about clothing that would allow me to stay dry for 12 hours. I already had a lot of tobogganing experience because my 68 different slopes resulted in a total length of more than 450 kilometers of all levels of difficulty. My toboggan is a commercially available model from the Austrian toboggan maker Kathrein in Tyrol, Austria (https://www.rodel.at/de/).

Unusual weather and lack of snow made the world record attempt impossible in February 2025 and even until the end of the winter season 2024/2025. I informed Guinness Book of Records of the impossibility of attempting the world record and they announced on 16th April 2025, that I had the opportunity to attempt the world record also at the beginning of the winter season 2025/2026. That was excellent news. In October 2025, I agreed with Bernhard Gruber and Rudi Göstl, the managers from the Wildkogel Arena Bramberg & Neunkirchen Mountain Railways, to set the date for the world record ttempt on 19th December 2025.

The day of the record!

I arrived in Bramberg on Thursday, 18th December 2025. Due to a lack of snow, the toboggan run couldn't be started from the mountain station close to Wildkogel. I had to start from the mid-station. The snow conditons in Austria were very poor. However, the toboggan run was well-groomed, but the snow in the middle section was soft due to unusually warm temperatures in December. I made two test downhill runs with my toboggan and noticed that the soft snow in the middle section slowed me down. In the evening, I waxed my toboggan with special wax for warm/wet snow. I also decided to use the wax during the record attempt as often as necessary.

The record attempt took place on Friday, 19th December 2025, from 7:00 A.M. until 6:40 P.M. I met with the first witnesses at 6:30 A.M. at the valley station of the "Smaragdbahn" in Bramberg. Shortly afterward, at 6:34 A.M. we took the cable car to the middle station. At the mid-station, I switched on both my Axon bodycams. (I used another video camera for a few minutes before activating the Axon bodycams). The two master stopwatches (one at the mid-station and one at the valley station) were started by the witnesses simultaneously at the beginning of the event at 7:00 A.M. and were stopped at 6:40 P.M. - the end of the event (20 minutes before the end of the 12-hour period).

The temperature was also very good, much better (colder) than the day before. The first downhill run was veryfast and successful; it was cold in the valley due to the fog.

My toboggan was very well waxed. I wore high boots with very strong soles. I wore waterproof pants.

The good waterproof gear kept me dry. I only had to change my underwear once, in the afternoon. I set up aclothing and food depot at the valley station. During midday, it wasn't as warm as the day before. As a result, the snow conditions were much better.I waxed my toboggan several times during midday. My toboggan was always very fast. I rode carefully in the evening.

When I knew I had tobogganed more than 200 kilometers, I was very happy. I ended the record attempt at 6:40 P.M. close to the valley station, next to the bar named “Kaspars Smaragd Rodel Verleih”. I received a warm welcome in the valley at 6:40 P.M. with a large fireworks display.