Snow Fear

You've always wanted to belly flop down an Olympic luge chute, with your nose inches from the ice, right? It even sounds like a good idea sober. Or maybe you have your eye on speed skiing. Philippe Goitschel went 155 miles per hour and he wasn't driving a Ferrari. Lucky you-at venues around the world, amateurs now have the opportunity to experience the rush of adrenaline previously reserved for Olympic athletes and extreme-sport junkies. Instructors are there to ensure your safety while teaching you the finer points of such esoteric sports as skeleton and biathlon. Equipment is either free or rented (have you priced a new bobsled lately?), along with elbow pads or helmets, as needed. If you have the cojones, here's where to sign up.

Speed Skating

You don't need a skintight Lycra suit to make like Eric Heiden (he won five gold medals in the sport) and skate faster than you ever imagined. Just head to Lake Placid, rent a pair of long-bladed speed skates, put one arm behind your back and hit the 400-meter Olympic ice oval. World-class speed skaters can break 30 mph. If you want to up your velocity, private lessons are available. Helmets, knee and elbow pads are optional, but at these speeds you're a fool to pass them up.

Ski Jumping

The Utah Olympic Park is home to one of the country's only recreational Nordic jumping facilities. In two hours you can progress from small rollers on the ski slopes to 5-,10-, 20- and—if you've got the right stuff—40-meter jumps. (Go for the 40 and you'll only be about 10 feet in the air at the height of your jump—but it seems a lot higher.) Coaches provide gear and instruction to intermediate or better skiers. Before you get too cocky, the Olympic guys do 90 and 120 meters. Maybe next year.

Speed Skiing

Speed skis are longer, wider and heavier than recreational ones. Tucked into an egg shape, pros go from zero to 140 miles per hour in less than 15 seconds. Don't ask how steep the slope is. An entire run takes 20 seconds. (Gutsy amateurs can hit 90 mph.) At speeds under 100 mph a skier stops by carving large turns in the snow. At 140 mph stopping is more complicated. The skier must slowly untuck to stop. Les Arcs, France is home to the World Speed Skiing Championships, where you're timed in a special stadium.

Luge and Skeleton

Luge is French for sled. In English, it means a seat attached to two sharp blades that pros ride at 90 miles per hour—with no brakes. Don a helmet, go feet first and pray. It sounds scary until you try the skeleton, a similar screamer of the sport, which the Olympic committee brought back after a 54-year absence. To participate, you ride a heavier sled, go headfirst instead of on your back—and still no brakes. Classes in both sports are offered at the site of the Calgary Olympics.

Biathlon

Cross-country ski as fast as you can around a track with a rifle, then drop facedown in the snow with your heart hammering and shoot out five bull's-eyes from 50 meters. Miss one and you have to ski a penalty lap. That's easier than the folks in Norway who invented the sport with bow and arrow had it: If they missed they starved to death. For this kind of fun, sign up for a free clinic with the Utah Winter Games. Afterward, you can try your skill in their January public competition.

Bobsledding

It looks like a rocket and accelerates like a rocket. The difference? Rockets have engines. With a bobsled, you are the engine, and the faster you sprint in the push-off, the faster your sled will go. Just remember to jump aboard. A four-man sled can hit over 60 mph at Canada Olympic Park, where you ride with three other thrill seekers as part of a run. For an even more intense experience, sign up for a clinic that includes a ride on a sled with a professional driver and brakeman.

Lake Placid, New York $8 Admission Charge.

$10 for 20 Minutes of Instruction or $20 for 40 minutes. Also try dog sledding, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing and ice climbing.

Utah Olympic Park

Park City, Utah

$8 Admission Charge.

$35 gets you four hours of airborne terror along with. Rental gear. Park city is full of bars. Our favorite: the wasatch brewery.

Les Arcs

Bourg Saint Maurice, France $20 for Rentals and Runs.

More than 150 shops, bars and restaurants, plus dozens of lifts, night skiing and women galore make this the fun center of the alps.

Canada Olympic Park

Calgary, Alberta

$50 Canadian for two Hours.

Two hours of terror aren't enough; opt for the more intensive second session. The Canadian dollar makes lessons a real bargain.

Utah Winter Games

Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah Free Instruction.

There's a $20 entry fee for competition. Penalty points are awarded for shooting your competition. Tournaments are offered regularly.

Canada Olympic Park

Calgary, Alberta

$49 Canadian.

Bobsledding is Called The "Champagne of Thrills" And After a Few Runs You'll be Ready for a Glass of Bubbly-or Something Stronger.

"Eric Heiden made a bigger impression on me than the U.S. hockey team. I quit hockey."—Casey Fitz Randolph, Olympic speed skating gold medalist.

"Ski jumping looks easy I from the ground. But wait until you're the one in the sky looking down."—Alan Johnson, ski jump director, Utah Olympic Park.

"If you've ever stuck your hand out of a car window at 70 mph, you can appreciate what a speed skier feels going 100."—Cory Carlson, ex-U.S. ski team.

"I watched the luge at the Olympics and signed up for a skeleton class. On the first run I nearly lost my lunch."—Pat Gallagher, Salt Lake City spectator.

"Biathlon is a winter sport that requires the skills of a sniper and the endurance of a superb athlete."—John Aalberg, biathlon Olympian in 1992 and 1994.

"The sport of bobsledding is not that complicated. You just get a body and throw it down the ice a thousand times."—Dudley Stokes, 1998 Jamaican, bobsled team.