In the spirit of the 2010 Winter Olympics my parents looked up these photos they had of a day trip we took in 1986 to the site of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.More amusing than the winter weather get up I have on is that the view behind my sister and I is of Colden, Algonquin and Wright Peak...3 of the 46 mountains that my father and I have been climbing. They were just mountains back then. I am sure that at age 13 I didn't even think they were remotely special.... much less dream of being at the summit of all of them some day.
During our visit we watched the bobsled and luge runs and ski jumping. We took the elevator to the top of the ski jump and actually had a beautiful view of Whiteface. To the left of the lookout was the Adirondac Loj road.It was 6 years after the Lake Placid Olympics but the memories were still fresh for us. There was nothing more exciting than the Hockey Team beating Russia and Eric Heiden setting records and winning the gold in Speed Skating. I recall skating on the pond in my grandfather's
barnyard pretending to be a speed skater. It was important to get your arm going and try to imitate the moves of the Olympians. It was definitely easier to be a speed skater than a figure skater!! My face book friend and former college roommate Chris posted an Olympic memory on her status the other night that made smile several times over the last few days. She said that she got her first pair of roller skates the summer after the 1980 games and Eric Heiden's 
notoriety. She recalled skating fast down the street and strolling back with her hands on her hips pretending to do an interview with Jim McKay. Chris' hope was that the kids today are watching the Olympics and incorporating the excitement of the events into their playtime. It was at that moment that I knew I needed to drum up some interest in my own kids for the 2010 games....thankfully Reagan is well aware of who Apolo Anton Ohno (speedskater)
and Louis Vito (snowboarder) are from their appearances on Dancing with the Stars. Attracting new followers of their sport was EXACTLY what both of those athletes hoped would be the result of their participation.
We are definitely cheering for these guys!!!!
