Skeleton, which has only been a regular Winter Olympic event since 2002, is every bit as fast and intense and as scary as luge. Scarier; the sliders go down face-first. But that gives the sport an aesthetic edge over its cohorts. Look at those helmets!
A slider's helmet receives every bit as much thought and detail as does, say, a goalie's mask. Combined with a choice of visor, they run the gamut from futuristic to intimidating to playful to inscrutable. Here now a gallery of some of our favorites, with all photos taken today as the sliders made practice runs on the Sanki track.

I’ve always thought that goalie masks were the coolest, most personalized pieces of sports equipment—until today.

Joe Stracci