Women on the Cresta Run

Women have been riding the Cresta Run in St. Moritz since 1886, until a ban on their participation was introduced by the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club (SMTC) Committee in 1929. In that year, Vivien Wrangham became the last woman to ride the Cresta officially, after injuring herself in falls at Shuttlecock and later at Bulpett’s. These incidents marked the end of regular female participation on the Run. The ban was subsequently upheld at a Special General Meeting of Club Members in 1933.

Among the earliest female Cresta riders, Ava Willing is recorded as one of the first documented women on the Run, having begun her tobogganing career in Davos before coming to St. Moritz. She later introduced her husband, J. J. Astor (of Titanic fame), to the village, where he became a strong supporter of the Bobsleigh Club. In the same period, the Robertson family also played an important role in the early history of women on the Run. In the first Ladies race on the Cresta Run in 1886, Annie Robertson represented St. Moritz in a team race between the two villages, modelled on the Men’s Grand National. That year, the women retrieved some pride for the “St. Moritzers”, who had been soundly beaten for the second year by the “Davosers” in the Men’s Race.

Of the early women champions, Mrs MacLaren holds a particular place. She adopted a “side-saddle” riding position in place of the more usual sitting position and won three successive Ladies Grand Nationals between 1897 and 1899. Ursula Wheble, by contrast, became the outstanding exponent of the seated style.

It was Lorna Robertson who first rode the Cresta headfirst, both from Junction and later from the Men’s Start at Top. During the three seasons she spent in the Engadin, she proved almost invincible. Ursula Wheble later adopted the same lying position and went on to set the Ladies record from Top in 1911, a mark that stood until 2023. Up to this date, the women started just above the Church Leap, where the road bridge is today.

After the Great War, and probably due to the growing popularity of skiing, the number of women riding the Cresta diminished considerably. One exception was Mrs Baguley, who, together with her husband John Minto Baguley, won her colours in 1921. They were the first husband and wife to do so since Mr and Mrs J. Arden Bott in 1902. In 1922, Myra Fullerton became the last woman to be awarded her colours. Mrs Baguley had set the Junction record the previous year, a time that would not be surpassed until the modern era, first by Michaela Pitsch and later by Barbara Hosch, both of whom continue to ride the Cresta Run today.

It was not until 1987 that women were allowed back on the Cresta Run, and then only under strictly limited conditions. Participation was confined to a single one-day event held at the end of each season. During the long intervening years, there were occasional reports of unofficial rides by women using male pseudonyms, though these remained outside the formal structures of the Club.

In 2004, the annual women’s event became an official race over two courses, involving handicaps and the forecasting of times. From 2018 onwards, women were once again permitted to ride more frequently during the season. One year later, the Lorna Robertson Challenge Cup was established. Held from Junction in 2019, it was the first open race to be staged since the Ladies Grand National of 1921.

In the 2023/24 season, the SMTC Committee continued the Lorna Robertson Challenge Cup as a two-day open race held in conjunction with the Curzon Cup. The first winner was Barbara Hosch, who was also awarded the coveted SMTC colours, following in the footsteps of Lorna Robertson, the first woman to be so honoured in 1900.

On February 17th, 2024, the Ladies Grand National from Top was run for the first time since 1921. The race was won by Carina Evans, who was awarded her SMTC colours after emerging victorious from a field of seven riders. In the following season, the number of competitors increased to nine. The third running of the Ladies Grand National in the modern era took place on Saturday, February 14th, 2026, immediately after the Men’s Race. The winner: Carina Evans.

Photography: Melissa Michel, SMTC Archive London