217/10 Leader Telegram Article

Editor's note: Altoona natives Jennifer Holec and Amy Lund are at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Their reports will appear in the Leader-Telegram through Thursday.
WHISTLER, British Columbia - The Olympics are cool. On Monday, we attended our first real Olympic event: the women's luge, qualifying runs one and two.

After the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili last week, we were curious about the mood at the Whistler Sliding Center.
To get there, we had to take a bus ride up to Whistler. We had purchased tickets for the 11:45 a.m. ride, but arrived at the pickup point early and were able to leave at 10:30. This gave us extra time to explore Whistler, because the luge didn't start until 5 p.m.
The bus trip took about two hours and was filled with breathtaking views of the mountains and Howe Sound fjord.
The bus was filled with many different nationalities, and the mood was lively. People proudly displayed their country's colors in scarves, flags and coats.
Once we got to Whistler, we wandered the town plaza, had our picture taken in a bobsled, and saw where the Whistler medal ceremonies are held. There was a small memorial to Kumaritashvili near a large display of Olympic rings. People had left flowers, pictures and candles there, but that was the only sign that someone had died at the Olympic Games.
We made our way toward the ski lift gondolas at 2:30. The earlier we arrived at the Sliding Center, the better view we could get of all the action.
At the top, we went through security, which was quick and efficient.
Our plan was to start higher on the track and work our way toward the finish area. We found a great vantage point at Turn 11. We settled in and started talking with other spectators.
While we were watching the preparation of the track, we observed the competitors going through their warm-up routines. At first it looked like they were doing an interpretive dance; they were actually doing a mental run-through of the course.
We couldn't believe how close we were to the track. If the security guards weren't watching, we could have reached out and touched it.
During the competition, the loudest cheers were for the Canadian and American lugers. Obviously, the Canadian fans outnumbered the Americans. We felt bad for the lugers from the countries that didn't have many fans, so we cheered for them.
Watching the luge on TV makes it really easy to follow the athlete down the track. Watching the luge in person is a lot of waiting with two seconds of a blur. That is, if you are paying attention.
We stayed at Turn 11 for the entire first run of 29 athletes, then made our way down the hill to experience the course from different points.
This day, we finally felt like we were attending the Winter Olympics. It was cold enough to wear snowpants. We saw a competition, and people around the world cheered their athletes on.
We planned to take in curling on Tuesday. It will be a tad slower, but exciting nonetheless.