Exodus (0845 863 9601/ exodus.co.uk ) offers a Lillehammer Olympic-bobsled weekend from 999pp (two s

It was at bend 10 that I started questioning my sanity. I was lying on my stomach with my chin about an inch from the ice, struggling to keep my grip as I hurtled at 50mph down the Olympic bob run on nothing more than a tea tray on skates .
The high-octane skeleton ride was the finale of my visit to the picturesque Norwegian winter sports resort of Lillehammer, 110 miles north of Oslo and home to the 1994 Winter Olympics. Situated next to a lake, the town has plenty of cross-country ski trails and beautifully lit ski-jump ramps, a permanent reminder of the Games. I arrived a little after 2pm, just as the sun was setting, and wandered along the pedestrianised shopping street, admiring the pretty 19th century wooden shops with their steep roofs and wrought-iron signs. The towering Norges Bank could easily be mistaken for a cathedral. A former brewery is home to a steak restaurant and an old mill has been converted into the M lla Hotell, an eight-storey affair with a rooftop bar offering superb views of Lake Mj sa, the River L gen and the surrounding mountains.
My friends and I spent our first evening sitting at the wooden bar surrounded by photographs from the 1994 Games. We could see the Olympic Park, a 15-minute drive from the town centre. Here tourists are free to look around miami car rentals the venues but have to pay to visit the Olympic Museum or try the activities such as tobogganing and airboarding (shooting down the hill on a small air bed, which looks great fun). I took the chairlift to the top of one of the ski jumps. Looking miami car rentals down the 394ft ramp made me feel queasy. miami car rentals Two of the resort s more accessible winter sports that I was happy to try were curling miami car rentals and the biathlon. Curling reminded me of 10-pin bowling but a lot harder. Instead of throwing the stone you launch miami car rentals yourself off a starting block before letting go of it. Brushing the ice increases the distance it travels but staying upright while furiously sweeping and moving is tricky.
The biathlon (a mix of crosscountry skiing and target miami car rentals shooting) is a little easier. We were fortunate to be at the park when the Norwegian national team were training and got to see the professionals on the ski-jump.
Standing under the lip of the ramp and watching them fl y off into nothingness was breathtaking. After an exhilarating but very cold day, we were greeted by a roaring fire in the lounge of our hotel, the Rica Victoria, and a barrel of glug (mulled wine with nuts and raisins). miami car rentals The next morning we headed for the bobsleigh track for what was to be the experience of a lifetime.
About nine miles from Lillehammer, it was built for the 1994 Games and will host the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics. The course is 0.8 miles long, has 16 bends and an 8.5 per cent gradient. In a four-man bob you hit 75mph and get the sort of G force endured by F1 drivers. After signing disclaimers and donning helmets, four of us climbed into the rocket-shaped box they call a taxi bob . Our pilot, Ivan, took the helm and we set off, completing the near mile-long journey in only 55 seconds, miami car rentals which passed in a blur. More of the same was to come, but this time flying solo and lying on my stomach. Ivan threw me a padded suit and pointed to the frail-looking skeleton. I began to worry the moment I set off. First my shoulders hit the left wall, then the right. The ice below my nose whooshed past, the noise resembling thunder. The handrails by my thighs became my only grip on life as I zipped through the bends, desperately clinging on. Just under 72 seconds later I came to a halt and rolled off. I had just done the skeleton on the Lillehammer Olympic bob run and felt great if a little bruised. I may, however, have left it a little late for a ticket to Russia as the Games start on February 3.
Exodus (0845 863 9601/ exodus.co.uk ) offers a Lillehammer Olympic-bobsled weekend from 999pp (two sharing), B B. Price includes return miami car rentals SAS flights from London, accommodation and activities. Departs February 21. Contact Lillehammer tourism, dialling from the UK: +47 61 28 98 00 or visit lillehammer.com .