Krasnaya Polyana harbours the Olympic mountain cluster facilities, and one should board a train at the Sochi Central Station, to get there. The fares are 112 roubles, or some 4 US dollars. The train moves along the coastline past the famous Russian resorts of Khosta, Matsesta and Adler. The Black Sea seems to be reaching out to the train wheels. A light breeze is ruffling the ever-green palm-trees, while the Caucasus Mountains snow-white caps are seen in the distance. The landscape remains unchanged for about half an hour, but then the commuter train dives into a tunnel and emerges in a true Russian winter, in the mountains, with one meter-thick layer of snow, with no suggestion of the sea or palm-trees nearby.
Krasnaya Polyana is at the very heart of the Olympics' mountain cluster, with a bobsleigh complex on the right, the slalom and downhill course Roza Khutor in front, the Roller coaster spring-board behind, and the biathlon course Laura, on the left. To get to the picturesque Laura race course, one should board a cable car and get there in a matter of 15 minutes. The race course is in a high-mountain valley, full of small cozy hotels and cafes. The air in the valley is incredibly fresh. According to the organizers, the biathlon course is a double black diamond, but it's supernaturally beautiful, to make up for it. But then, athletes have already tested the course, specifically when the place played host to last year's World Cup competition. Russian biathlete Svetlana Sleptsova was lavish with praise for Laura.
"It’s a wonderful place for Winter Olympics. All those feeling critical about holding Winter Olympics in southern Russia are wrong. The place is very beautiful and the weather is nice," she said.The opposite side of the slope is the site of the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track. Amateurs are scared by the very look of the ice-covered run, especially when they imagine someone voluntarily coming rushing down the run at a mind-boggling speed. Some athletes have already done that and liked it very much, according to the complex manager Andrei, who elaborates.
"Young athletes, both Russian and foreign, have already tested the facility. The very same foreign athletes will come here again in February to compete. But then, Russian athletes were not all young, they were of various age groups," he said.Juniors admire the facility, and it is they who will use it after the Olympics and Paralympics. World Bobsleigh and Skeleton Championships are due to be held here in 2017. The Roller coaster spring-board is the only Olympic facility that has played host to no competition as yet. This is a huge structure overhanging over Krasnaya Polyana and offering a fabulous view of the mountain pass. According to experts, this is one of the most complex Olympic facilities, built practically on a cliff. But the hardest part of the job has already been done, says the complex director Alexander, and elaborates.
"We are currently constructing the building of a press centre and laying OBS Olympic Broadcast System cables to ensure the performance of television cameras and systems. We will also instal a video screen and a scoreboard, and also tents for personnel and dressing cubicles for athletes," he said.Japanese reporters are having their photographs taken under the huge spring-board as a memento. According to them, Krasnaya Polyana in December is suggestive of prominent Russian writer Arsenyev's fairy-tales. The famous Japanese film-maker Akiro Kurosawa once made a movie based on that book. That’s not a fairy-tale, a Russian reporter butts in, it’s an introduction. The fairy-tale is due in February