ocal residents don't have to travel far to try their hand at virtually every winter sport. But if by chance you want to try the luge, you usually have to travel to a city that has a luge track.

Skiers at Blue Mountain got a shot to feel a little of what it's like to luge last weekend, when a group of athletes including some Olympians set up a track on the mountain as part of Blue Mountain's annual Winter Fest.Luge of course attracts attention here during winter Olympic years, but there are only a handful of places that offer it in the United States where it can be done in earnest.So USA Luge actually travels to areas that may not be known for luge to spread the word about the sport."It's basically sledding at its most extreme, said Gordy Sheer, a former U.S. Olympian who works with USA Luge to expand the sport.Blue Mountain has the ability to cut a makeshift luge into its man-made snow - giving children and adults a chance to pretend they're representing the U.S. in competition. Children and adults had a chance to clock the best time, and win prizes."Anyone age 10 and up can participate," Sheer said.On a normal luge track, athletes will reach speeds of 90 mph while descending a track that is more than 40 stories tall. The track at Blue Mountain was closer to four stories tall.Through the experience, the team has picked up some new recruits. Sheer said it was at a similar event at a mountain in Adams County that the team discovered Summer Britcher, who at age 21 is one of the top lugers in the world.Lugers got tips from members of the Adirondack Luge Club who helped out on the track, many of which came from areas that did not have a luge track. Rob Pipkins grew up in Staten Island, but made it all the way to the Olympics in 1992 and 1994."I went to Lake Placid in the summertime. It was really just an opportunity to check out the site of the Olympics," he said.While the odds of ending up at that level are long, who's to say that a future luger didn't take to the slopes on Saturday.Thomas Dickinson, 13, of Dalton, came to the luge track because he had so much fun doing it the year before.He was working on timing his turns to get the best possible time on track. Asked how many runs he planned to do for the day, he said he was in for the long haul."As many as I can," he said.