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" For the past three winters, Steve Falk of Aurora, Ontario, has transformed his backyard into an Olympic playground, with a double luge fit for racing and a zigzagged course sure to bring the whiplash. Last year&amp;#039;s glacial masterpiece, a snowy 300-foot circuit, even got some nods from Canadian skeleton racer, Jon Montgomery, who challenged Falk&amp;#039;s 13-year-old daughter, Sally, to go racing down backwards, skeleton-style. Here, the Falks share their tips on how, with some snow, a graded slope, and flying saucers, you can create your own backyard luge. The learning curve is steep! Step 1: Sculpting the Route  The conditions are just right: an 18-inch carpet of snow glistens on the ground and the temperature hovers just below freezing. The kids, turbocharged from delaying their excitement, finally get the go-ahead to test-pilot the hill in Falk&amp;#039;s backyard. They cruise down the snowy bank, one following closely behind the other, leaving a snaking impression in their wake. This is the preliminary testing phase, how Falk traditionally launches construction of his backyard luge every winter.  The importance of such trial runs is threefold: They give Falk a glimpse of the natural trajectory of the descent, carve out the rudimentary groove and tire out the kids. The initial groove is fairly straight with subtle curves, so Falk magnifies them and adds his own to make optimal use of the 80 x 60\u2013foot space in his backyard.  Now that the design is more tangible, Falk fires up a gas-powered snowblower and shifts snow from 60 feet away into lofty piles near his starting ramp, which also happens to be a deck attached to his home. He assembles and packs the snow into a 6-foot-high mound, steep enough to give racers a supercharged boost down to the first of five perilous curves. Next, he loads the prospective curves with excess snow, which he uses to sculpt firm, high walls that can withstand the force of a high-speed luger hurtling against the curve.  Alternative methods for transporting snow are using a shovel and mobile receptacle, i.e. a wheelbarrow, or a large plastic sheet that can be loaded with snow and dragged to the desired location. Step 2: Connecting the Dots  Once the snow dunes are in place, so that the backyard looks less like a luge and more like a post-apocalyptic bulldoze site. Then the real labor begins. Falk etches a 4-foot-diameter circle into the groove, and he connects the dots between curves using a Flying Saucer Sled. The process resembles sanding plaster on a wall. &amp;quot;You put your hands on [the flying saucer] and lean against it while rubbing it along and up and down the curves to build walls and structure,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;Place a child in the saucer and push them around a bit on the curves to pack it in.&amp;quot; Though Falk has never iced his luge, icing the starting ramp and the curves with a garden hose will bolster the structure and give it that extra slickness. Step 3: The Buzz on Curves  The first ride down the luge, like rafting on frothy, frozen river rapids, will be one of two things\u2014exhilarating or disastrous. And, most likely, not what the rider anticipated. After dipping down into the first curve, a rider might be lucky enough to stay on track. But many are jettisoned.  The factors include variations in speed, the mass of the moving rider and the angles of the curves. Considering and overcompensating for these physical factors in the planning phase can avoid flaws in curve design. The walls of the curves must be secure enough, thick enough, and high enough to resist the force of a racer, which increases with mass and velocity.  &amp;quot;At the beginning of the year, the snow is slow and there isn&amp;#039;t as much of it on the starting ramp,&amp;quot; Falk says. &amp;quot;All in all, it&amp;#039;s a slower run, so the walls don&amp;#039;t have to be as high.&amp;quot; However, every trip down the luge smooths and polishes it, patting it down into a glossier, slicker surface. What follows is a reduction in friction between the flying saucer and the course, which expedites the journey down. &amp;quot;As conditions change, the need for higher, sturdier walls changes,&amp;quot; Falk says. He made one of his walls 7 feet high as a safety precaution.  Step 4: Luge Maintenance  Constructing a luge is an organic process, a back and forth between building, testing and tinkering to find the perfect balance between fun and safety. &amp;quot;Rain, a warm spell or an especially cold night can cause big changes in how the run works,&amp;quot; says Falk, who tests the course every day before unleashing the children. With every snowfall, he incorporates the fresh snow into the luge and modifies the course as he sees fit.  Aside from volatile weather, other things such as particles of grass and flecks of dirt that litter the course can jeopardize its integrity, attracting sunlight and acting as heat sinks. Falk extends the life of the luge by scouring the course for stray particles. Sometimes, dicey curves call for experimental methods. In one section of Falk&amp;#039;s luge, the terminal curve under the trees in his sketch, he inserted a ping-pong table into the wall of the curve to fortify it. &amp;quot;It all started because we didn&amp;#039;t want the kids to go in the creek,&amp;quot; Falk recalls. &amp;quot;I stuck a little bench beside the ping-pong table and leaned it on a 45-degree angle and packed snow under and around it.&amp;quot; If there are trees or other backyard hazards flanking any of your curves, try reinforcing the walls with a firm object. Falk also suggests padding potential threats with foam or bales of hay.  Step 5: The Scoop on Snowcraft  The Falks give the Flying Saucer three thumbs up. Its disc shape, similar to that of a contact lens, provides an optimal surface-area interface with the course and responds fluidly to curves. Falk says the saucers also give that haphazard effect, making you feel &amp;quot;like a marble in a Hot Wheels track,&amp;quot; while toboggans and sleds with metal or wooden blades get snagged up on curves and flip over more easily. &amp;quot;If you add blades, you&amp;#039;d have to add ice,&amp;quot; he says.  Flying saucers also open up a new dimension for those with an appetite for pioneering navigational stunts. Falk&amp;#039;s daughter, Sally, is an expert pilot of the Flying Saucer and even has a term for one of her gutsy techniques. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s called Mission Impossible,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;You have to start backwards and spin your arms around on the ground so the saucer starts rotating. And then you normally just spin all the way down and get really dizzy!&amp;quot;  Step 6: The Luge Stats and Plans  Luge Length: 300 feet Luge Width: 3 to 4 feet Vertical Drop: 30 feet Curves: Five Wall Height: 2 to 7 feet Build Time: 6 to 8 hours, plus maintenance DIY Luge Plans (PDF, 283 KB, requires Adobe Reader) "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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