I took my kids to Lake Placid last week on their school vacation. The real focus of the trip was something we’d all read about and decided we really wanted to do: ride the Olympic bobsled run there. So we did.
The ride lasts about 48 seconds, you hit a speed around 51 mph, and it costs about $70 per person with a long wait to actually get on. That said, it’s a spectactular experience, with a rushing force that is hard to describe. A professional driver and brakeman sandwich you into a somewhat worn-looking fiberglass sled, and you are told to keep your head straight so you don’t smack your helmet against the curves. You only need to be told once. On some of those curves, the g-force was so strong I couldn’t even lift my head. Mostly I remember the color of the bluish ice, the sudden whipping upwards into the turns and the sheer relief when the brakes kicked in and we came to a halt in one piece at the bottom.
It was great, but once was enough. I’ll stick to snowboarding.
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