April 7, 2012 -- (Taos, NM) --1,000 intense fans cheered as 17 daring teams slid into Taos Ski Valley to test wacky, homemade crafts and race to be the fastest and most aerodynamic sledders on this side of the Alps. In the end, team "Space Schlit" comprised of two students, Cooper Monette and Antonio Carrejo from the University of New Mexico, claimed victory and a VIP trip to Dallas for the Red Bull Soap Box Races in September.
"It felt like we were on a ride to the moon!" laughed Monette after his voyage down the hill in a sled crafted like a rocket ship.
The crowd gathered during Taos' closing weekend as everything from a trio of Easter Bunnies riding an Easter Basket to hillbillies racing a drag car down the mountain. "It was an experience of a lifetime," said Antonio Carrejo who drove from Albuquerque to compete.
Sleds from around the State and West Texas were judged on artistic merit, innovation, team spirit and race results. Team "Gryffindor" of Albuquerque, NM came in second place and Team "Blue Bulls" of Lubbock, TX claimed third. Team "High on Octane" of Albuquerque won the crowd favorite award after onlookers texted their votes.
Schlittentag may be the German word for "sledding day", but the best way to describe it is "daredevils willing to propel themselves down a snow-covered hill and over a jump on a sled they built themselves"...just a loose translation. All you need is a little imagination, courage, a couple of friends and off you go.
