Luge Luge Luge!!!

Well, a 6am start wasn't as bad as the 4am. Off to the Whistler Sliding Center to catch the Women's Luge medal runs 3 and 4.

It was another rainy start to the day, and a long uncomfortable bus ride. Why can't they make bus seats more comfortable? It's worse than airplane seats! As we neared Whistler the rain turned into some heavy slushy snow. We pulled into Whistler Village about 3.5 hours before the Luge start. We toured around the village a bit, pretty busy already. The hill is also open for ski/snowboarding, so most were heading up the hill. We checked out a few of the broadcast studios that are live in the middle of things. That was interesting to see. The CTV booth was the biggest.

Me, being impatient, decided we were going to the track. Need to scope things out and find the best spot to watch. Took the gondola up. Security line up was empty, one great thing about going in early. This time we brought more food with us since they didn't seem to be stopping anyone. All the granola bars in my pocket set off the metal dector this time... guess it's because I had about 10 of them in the same pocket :)

The first view of the main finish corner and grand stand area was almost jaw dropping. Again, TV doesn't do justice to these sports. It was so impressive and massive! As the place was empty, we decided to hike to the top of the track, checking things out. Damn, again, something you don't see on TV is how steep the track actually is. It's crazy.

We walked up along the final stretch where the sleds slow... and it's uphill! Again, you don't see this on TV. I always assumed it was a long flat straight away. Nope, it's serious up hill. We walked passed the area where the unfortunate deadly accident occurred just a few days ago. I quietly paid my respects.

The walk to the top was very tiring and took a good 30 min. Along the way they mens doubles where doing their training runs. Wow, it's odd to see two men squished on a little sled going 100 km/hr plus. You hardly see both people.

Near the top the racers are much much slower, so it's easier to watch, and see more. We decided to setup camp in corner 11. It was long and we had a great spot to watch where people would not be able to stand because it was blocked off for TV. Gave a great long view for taking pictures. We pulled out the thermarest and took a seat. Only 1.5 hours to go.

While hanging out we meet another older Aussie couple and a dad and his young son from washington state. It's a lot of fun to hear others stories of coming to the games. The rain continued on and off for a bit, but finally let up.

Before we knew it the first rider was flying tow the track. Now when I mean flying, I mean doing mock 10! Seriously, if you blinked you missed it! The sleds are also so quiet that you don't know they are coming until the last second, and that's too late. The first few went buy and everyone in the corner watching were in amazement and just couldn't get over how fast they were going by. Most were just laughing and beside themselves, trying to get that picture. I managed several great photos (which i will post). But seriously, you can't imagine how fast these ladies were flying by. It was amazing.

After about half of the ladies had zoomed by, we decided to start walking down hill to each corner, checking out some different views. Turns out that most of the corners are just so short that you only see a blur. Also, in the upper corners you can't watch the entire run on the big screen, you need to be in the lower section for that. So, that's where we headed.

The lower main spectator area was an entirely different experience. It had filled up with thousands of people since we walked through on our way to the top. It was a buzz of excitement. Standing back in the middle you could watch as the ladies flew through the last long corner, as well as the big screen. It was pretty cool.

A few hours later and it was all over. We were wet, exhausted but had a great day. Got to watch an event live, that we've only ever seen on TV. It was the Olympics, and it was the medal runs. Wow!

Another long uncomfortable bus ride later and we are back home with another rest day tomorrow. Then, the skeleton. Now that's going to be scary.