‘94 WINTER OLYMPICS / LILLEHAMMER : DATELINE: LILLEHAMMER : It’s Cold, but This Surely Is a Great Place for Games

The International Olympic Committee apparently knew what it was doing when it awarded Lillehammer the ’94 Winter Olympics. They have real winter here.

There is snow. And more snow. And still more snow. If it isn’t snowing now, it will be in a few minutes.

Plows are out plowing snow, front-loaders are out loading it and trucks are out hauling it. There has not been so much snow in Lillehammer--nearly five feet has hit the ground this winter--since 1951, and more of it is falling at almost any time of the day or night.

Speaking of which, there is lots more night than day. It gets dark before 5 p.m., and stays that way until well after 8 a.m. So if you have something that needs to be done in daylight, better hurry because you have only about eight hours of it.

And of course, there is cold. Not breath-stealing, wind-driven cold--usually, although the wind was up the other day, brrr!--but persistent, pervading, zero-degree cold.

All of that, however, does not make this an unpleasant place. In fact, it is quite a beautiful area. The craggy medium-sized mountains are covered with evergreens wearing lacy mantillas. The houses have high white crowns. And when the sun shines, it very often does so through a fine sifting of, well, you know, making for an unusual filter effect. Altogether, very picturesque.

The warmth is provided by the people. Most are friendly, eager to please, quick to help confused foreigners. And, bonus time here, most speak English. Not only speak it, but speak it conversationally, jokes and idioms included.

The people also have a way of dealing with winter. They enjoy it. On any given day, you can go down to Storgata, the Main Street pedestrian mall, and see people strolling behind, scooter-pushing or riding downhill on their sparks . A spark is a kind of sled, made of metal runners and an upright wooden superstructure with handles. It’s good for pushing a child or getting the groceries home. Or as mentioned, riding down a snowy street.

There are little-kid ski groups, each kid wearing a number bib, and all kinds of people carrying cross-country equipment. There is a lighted Alpine ski hill just outside of town.

Altogether, a very congenial place for fun and Games. Which probably explains why they’re here.