Remember When Lillehammer Hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics?

Snorre Pedersen is an Olympic skeleton racer from Norway, competing from 1997 to 2005 and finishing 14th in the men’s skeleton in 2002. He’s, like, a big deal.

Trying My Hand at Bobsleighing at the Olympic Park in Lillehammer, Norway. (That's me second from the front, in the white jacket.) Photo: Richard Koss.

Hafjell
Snorre took a group of us travel writers up the gondola to the top of the mountain in Lillehammer, Norway, to the Hafjell bike park. I shimmied into the gondola he was in, where he switched the attention to his wife, also an Olympian. Maya Bieri Pedersen also competed in the skeleton, racing in the 2002 Olympics and competing in the World Cup for her home country, Switzerland.

I wonder if their daughter likes things fast, too?

Olympic Park
After taking a look at the impressive downhill bike park and having lunch at the casual eatery, we continued our Olympic-themed day and headed over to the Olympic Park. Yes, the venue you saw on your TV screen if you watched the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.

Here, a few of us tried the wheelbob. It’s a rubber bobsleigh that plummets down the official luge track. In the winter, you can actually luge or skeleton (that’s head first, yikes).

I wrote an article about going down on the wheelbob for BCLiving.ca: Bobsleighing Like Olympians in Lillehammer.

A Swedish Ski Jumper Trains at the Olympic Park in Lillehammer, Norway.

To cap off the day, we ended at the ski jump area. Looking down from the top of the ski jump – the same view the athletes stare at before each and every jump – I couldn’t imagine getting used to it. The drop off is steep, the slope seems to go on forever, not to mention if it was covered with snow and there were hundreds of people screaming at you (and millions watching on TV). Phew.

I remembered the TV coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, but the cameras couldn’t capture the same perspective as standing there. I think the hardest part of all would be that first jump, the unsettling feeling of unfamiliarity. After that, adrenaline and concentration probably take over. But what do I know? I only stood there and looked.

Olympic Ski Jumper
As luck would have it, a Swedish athlete arrived as we got to the bottom. Knowing his view from the top, it was exhilarating to watch him do two practice runs. After each, he walked by looking incredibly relaxed (and very handsome, as a few of the ladies I was with noted). Well, there goes my adrenaline theory.

Read more articles about Norway here.

(I travelled as a guest of the Eurail Group, Visit Norway and Lillehammer Tourism.)

Tags: 1994 Lillehammer, Bobsleighing, Hafjell, Lillehammer, Maya Bieri Pedersen, Norway, Olympic Park, Olympic skeleton racer, Olympic Ski Jumper, Snorre Pedersen, Swedish Ski Jumper, Winter Olympics