Next to curling, it has to be the winter's oddest looking sport, a high-speed slide down a track of hair-pin turns, with the rider in the most vulnerable position possible: flat on his back. Strange looking as it may be, luging or Kustbahn (as the Olympic variation is known), is actually a sport that requires great skill and strength, both mental and physical. Riders must learn to relax entirely (and steer precisely) as they hurtle towards the finish line, often at speeds exceeding 80 miles per hour.
It's a thrill ride par extraordinaire, and one that usually only highly-trained athletes get to experience. But this year, USA Luge along with Verizon will be teaming together to introduce the sport to thousands of east coasters in January and early February. The duo will be bringing international medallists (including Olympic silver-medal winners Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin), athletes and coaches to four ski resorts to teach novices how to luge. Participants will take part in a five-minute practice session to learn the basics of accelerating, steering and stopping. Then they'll take turns ripping down a turbahn course, complete with snow-banked curves and timing equipment. The sledder with the best time in the morning will compete in a race, at the end of the day, against the fastest afternoon luger.
Did we mention that all of this is totally free? You don't have to buy a lift ticket, you won't be pressured to change your telephone service to Verizon (they promise). And once you're trained, you can go down the course as many times as your stomach will allow.
Last year, and the year before that, this introductory course was held in Lake Tahoe and other ski areas across the American West. This year, the lugers will be heading to the following resorts:
- Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, MA (Jan. 24-25)
- Thunder Ridge Ski Area in Patterson, NY (Jan. 31-Feb. 1)
- Liberty Mountain Ski Resort in Carroll Valley, PA (Feb. 21-22)
- Waterville Valley Ski Resort in New Hampshire (Feb. 28-29)
To learn more about this program, slide on over to www.usaluge.org.
By the way, this winter should be a veritable festival of free sports classes. To read about free lessons in snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing simply click here; and for down-hill ski lessons gratis, click here.
{Editor's note: Are you a winter sportsperson? Ever vacationed at a ski resort? If you have an instructive anecdote or tip you'd like to share, please click here. We may well reprint it in our daily letters column.}