Participating in downhill winter sports certainly calls for nerve and experience and so does photographing them competitively. These images from Wolfgang Rattay, a veteran of the slippery slope, freeze the action at the Men’s Luge World Cup event in Winterberg, Germany and even permit close examination of the expressions on the faces of the competitors. It is hard to escape the conclusion, at least from this evidence, that having his eyes open was perhaps what gave the winner his edge.  

If individual luge looks scary, Wolfgang make luge with two-up look positively relaxed, although it really can’t be much fun for the occupant of the back seat.  

Frankly I’m not sure which is braver, hurtling down a mountain feet first at high speed or having the confidence to wear lycra in freezing conditions in the certain knowledge of the inevitability of being photographed from this angle.