Steering on the natural track in luge: rein, legs and hands in tight, flat corners, braking before the corner, and why you learn this only with a coach.
The honest answer: On the natural track you steer differently than on the artificial ice track. The natural track is a converted mountain road or path, with tight, flat corners and no banked curves [1]. Riders there use a steering rein, drag their hands and use their legs to get through the tight, flat corners [1]. Braking is often needed before the corners, with the spikes on the soles of the shoes [1].
And here is the part almost nobody tells you up front: we found no study and no federation description of technique that explains step by step how to steer on the natural track. What the sources give is the frame. Under the FIL rules the sled consists of two runners, a seat, two steels, two bridges, two hand guards and a steering rein; mechanical braking devices are prohibited [2]. Athletes wear tight-fitting race suits, helmets, braking shoes, ankle protectors and gloves with spikes [2]. Our sources do not describe a sitting or lying posture for the natural track, your coach clarifies that.
We therefore name no posture, no pulling force and no sequence to copy. The natural track is rough: the tracks get torn up by braking and steering [1]. They are mostly in Austria and Italy, about 0.8 kilometres long and shorter than artificial tracks [1].
Realistically: this is an intermediate skill with high risk. You learn it in a club that operates a natural track, with a coach and in stages.
Why the natural track needs its own rules: without banking, nothing holds you in the corner except line, speed and technique. Mistakes can be caught less easily, and the lane changes with every run. That is practical knowledge that the sources support only in part [1].
Walk the track on foot: where are the tight corners, where is the surface rough, where are hazards? Natural tracks are adapted to the terrain, without banked curves [1].
Milestone: You can recite the corners of the track in order and name the tightest ones.
Have sled, steering rein and braking shoes checked by the coach. Mechanical brakes are prohibited [2]; braking and steering run through your body.
Milestone: Your coach confirms that sled and equipment fit.
Standing and in slow rolling on flat ground you learn how the sled reacts to a pull on the steering rein. You practise this with a coach, without speed.
Milestone: You explain how the sled behaves when the rein is pulled.
On a slow track you combine rein, legs and the hand for support. The sources name exactly these means [1]. How much of which, the coach decides.
Milestone: You ride a flat corner slowly and without touching the edge.
Before corners braking is often needed, with the spikes on the shoes [1]. You practise finishing braking before the corner and steering in the corner, not both at once.
Milestone: Ten corners in a row in which you finished braking before turning in.
Walk the track once more after training and mark the places where the surface was rough or torn up. The sources describe that braking and steering make the natural track rough [1]. Knowing where that happens is your best advantage. That is coaching practice.
With a steering rein, with hands dragging on the ground, and with the legs, especially in tight, flat corners [1]. How exactly, you learn with a coach.
Mechanical brakes are prohibited [2]. Braking is done with spikes on the shoe soles, often before the corners [1].
About 0.8 kilometres, and thus shorter than artificial tracks [1]. The exact dimensions are regulated by the FIL rules.
Natural tracks are adapted to the terrain, have no banked curves and a rougher surface. On artificial ice tracks the ice is artificially cooled and the curves are banked [1].
Yes. You learn it in a club with a coach, equipment and a homologated track [2].
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