ANGEL FIRE, N.M. — The Angel Fire Resort has a unique way to celebrate winter – a shovel race.

Hundreds of spectators and dare devils converged on the slopes of Angel Fire Resort in New Mexico this weekend for the 39th Annual Angel Fire Shovel Race Championships.

Competitors sit on the scoop of a standard aluminum snow shovel, handle pointed downhill, and then lift their hands and feet to allow gravity to take them for a ride. Top speeds regularly exceed 60 miles per hour.

Shovel racing began in the 197¹s when the resorts lift operators would ride their shovels down the mountain at the end of their shifts.


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