Miracles Never Cease at Lake Placid Experience
Published Apr 15, 2008
Skiers and riders start their descent to the base of the mountain as they take off down Riva Ridge, which overlooks Lake Placid and the High Peaks.
It may not be gold, silver or bronze, but with an Olympic Sites Passport around their necks, visitors to the Lake Placid region get their own taste of elite sports competition and the area’s rich history.
The passport program, offered in both summer and winter, gives tourists a personal Olympic experience at the site of the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Winter Games. The passport provides access to all of the storied sports venues – including the Olympic Sports Complex, home of bobsled, luge and skeleton tracks; the Olympic Jumping Complex, the ski jumping venue; and a gondola ride to the top of Little Whiteface, as well as the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum.
For would-be Olympians, the passport includes a skating session at the legendary speed skating oval and discount coupons for a bobsled ride – plus the Gold Medal Adventure and Be a Biathlete experiences. In the Gold Medal Adventure, participants can give street luge a try, push a bobsled and even “ski jump” into a pool.
“It’s very easy for our travelers to understand that if they get [the passport], they get access to everything, which makes it a lot easier,” says Ted Blazer, president of the Olympic Regional Development Authority. “It’s proven to be very successful. And people want it. They wear it around their necks, and they’re kind of proud of the fact that they have a passport to go to our venues.”
The basic passport costs $29. The Ultimate Winter Passport, available for $185 at the non-holiday rate and $202 during holiday periods, includes a three-day ski lift ticket, a group lesson, a recreational ski-racing run and an afternoon cross-country trail pass.
The 2007-08 season has an exciting lineup of top-level winter sports competitions and the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Whiteface Mountain Ski center. In addition, Blazer says construction on the new Conference Center at Lake Placid is scheduled to begin in 2008 with a 2009 targeted completion date.
Story by Anne Gillem
Photo by ORDA
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