Is My New Sport of Tobogganing Too Risky?

A sled for grown-ups that supports nearly 300 pounds. (New York Times)

I have to admit, sledding seems a little dangerous to my body. I weigh about 330 pounds, I'm middle-aged, and I hurtle down that hill uncontrollably with little hope of stopping or steering. On the icy slopes the other day, my back was compressed painfully over the smallest bumps on the surface of the hill. It's like re-entering the Earth's atmosphere on the space shuttle. Or at least I assume it is. 

Without my glasses--they fog up--I almost missed seeing two jumps some kids had built half way down the hill. Had I hit one of those I would have certainly injured myself, probably my back, possibly seriously, possibly permanently.

I've had adults tell me about their tobogganing injuries as adults. Tail bones that took half a year to heal, back injuries that never quite got better...it's all scary stuff. I currently use a large, basic plastic sled but I'm thinking about buying a foam sled for some padding protection for my back but that kind of sled is even slippery than what I have now and I'd go even faster. 

Another Eurosled adult sled. Weight capacity: 300 lbs. (Amazon.ca)

I have found some sleds that adults can use. I like them because they have steering and brakes--two things that are downright handy on a large toboggan hill. I'd opt for the "little kid" slope but my eight year old would probably be disappointed in me.

I'll be very careful. I'll check out the hill close up and try and find any problems. I might find ways of slowing down my sled and I might wait for softer snow instead of the ice that is there on our hill as of this writing.

My fitness comes from climbing up the hill over and over again but the fun comes from going down and spending time with my kids.