Toboggan

A toboggan is a simple sled used in snowy winter recreation. It is also a traditional form of cargo transport used by the Innu, Cree and Ojibwe of North America, sometimes part of a dog train.
It is used on snow to carry one or more people down a hill or other slope for recreation, or as a rescue sled. Designs vary from simple, traditional models to modern engineered composites. A toboggan differs from most sleds or sleighs in that it has no runners or skis on the underside. The bottom of a toboggan rides directly on the snow. Some parks include designated toboggan hills where ordinary sleds are not allowed and which may include toboggan runs similar to bobsleigh courses.
Toboggans can vary depending on the climate and geographical region. Such examples are Tangalooma where toboggans are made from Masonite boards and used for travelling down steep sand dunes at speeds up to.

Etymology

The term toboggan likely comes from an Algonquin language, though the exact one is not sure. It likely comes from the Mi%27kmaq word tepaqan, meaning sled, or the Abenaki word dabôgan, meaning sled.

Design and use

Toboggan was originally an Algonquian term for a type of man-hauled cargo sledge made from bark, hardwood or whalebone, and deer or buffalo hide. Sledges of this type have been in use on the Great Plains and the Great Lakes since 3000 BCE. During the tribes' yearly migration to their winter campsites, these sledges were used to transport bulky personal possessions and small children before the introduction of the wheel. A smaller variant of the toboggan, used for recreational purposes, was known as a Tom Pung. As Europeans settled traditional Algonquian lands, the term was absorbed as an English loanword and applied to the low-profile wooden sledges made by the colonists.
The traditional American toboggan is made of bound, parallel wood slats, all bent up and backwards at the front to form a recumbent 'J' shape. A thin rope is run across the edge of end of the curved front to provide rudimentary steering. These usually lack the iron runners of the older woodcutter's sledges. The frontmost rider places their feet in the curved front space and sits on the flat bed; any others sit behind them and grasp the waist of the person before them.
Toboggans come in a variety of shapes. Modern recreational toboggans are typically manufactured from wood or plastic or aluminum. Larger, more rugged models are made for commercial or rescue use.
From 1923 to 2014 the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation governed the organized sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.