That’s how Veilleux found herself careening down a nearly two-and-a-half mile (four-kilometer) sledding run at the Grindelwald-First ski area in Switzerland’s Jungfrau region earlier this month.

If you visit the Oeschinensee resort in Switzerland, you can take a ride that's part sled, part roller coaster. Even if it looks terrifying, it's worth it for the spectacular views of the Swiss Alps.

In the mid-19th century in Switzerland. Legend has it that British soldiers were sledding down a ski track in the Swiss town of St. Moritz when one of the men decided to try and beat everyone’s ...