Fun in the snow!

By Aurora Ferreira

Entering the second day of the storm, the ground has been blanketed in a thick coat of snow. Already over a foot in height, the icy flakes continue to pile up, blocking both the streets and footpaths alike. Large and small plows make their way throughout campus, pushing aside the pure untouched banks to create dirtied and slushed trails that slowly but surely find themselves hidden once again. Determined to enjoy the made holiday, Stonehill students took to the outdoors to appreciate all the Snow Day had to offer. Having made their way outside of their warm dorms and out into the wild winter winds, students turned the snow day into a play day.

When the wind ceases, the air is almost completely silent and still, as if frozen by the temperature. These silences are easily filled by the laughs and shrill cries of those caught up in glorious snowy battle. While exploring a wintery wonderland, the urge to tease a friend or catch them off guard with the age-old tradition of a snowball to the back is strong. This white and fluffy powder, unsuited for sticking, was still somehow pressed into a familiar spherical shape and thrown into the air to playfully pelt others. Even with layers, hats, scarves, gloves and boots, these barrages leave most students with a chill and wet socks, whether that be through the snowballs themselves, or a slip of the foot and either a face full of snow or an unwilling snow angel.

But there is more to snow days than just sneaky snow attacks. A long held Stonehill College tradition, sledding down Donahue Hill, is also an exciting venture. Since the beginning of the snow’s fall on Sunday, the hill has been a revolving door, welcoming new sledders just as one group leaves in a never-ending cycle, leaving the hill never empty. Countless students found themselves at the foot of the hill, looking up at their peers as they merrily made their way to the bottom via sled or on other various wild manners of things. To make your way to the top, you must either take Donahue’s stairway, through a path of distinct footsteps taken and reused by many, thoroughly reshaped into a safe trail of steppingstones in an ever-growing cold white sea, or by trekking straight up the hill itself at the risk or misstepping and partially burying yourself. This is a risk most are willing to take.

Photo Credit: Aurora Ferreira

Standing in front of Donahue Hall, looking down the hill past the flight of flurries on the brisque breeze, one can see the many stretches of overlapping sled trails entwining and weaving together like yarn or far-reaching roots, starting at the same points and growing and spreading to reach various new places. Each print and trail uniquely made by a different makeshift sled. Half the fun is testing what works and seeing what can be gotten away with. Long, traditional sleds and disc like sleds of plastic were most used; not unexpected or overly interesting. The addition of ten-gallon clear packing containers, inflated mattresses, and cheap panels of cardboard held together by damp duct tape and a dream make for an interesting sight, showcasing creativity and determination. Students wearing trash bags make like a penguin, throwing themselves on their stomachs down the hill and get surprisingly far before rolling like a log and crashing into a small snowdrift. Calls of “let’s do that again!”, “How about you push me this time?”, and “What if?”s  ring out, making for engaging conversation and more than a few good laughs when things don’t go as planed.

On the hill’s slope, jumps are used to get a little air while going down. Made after hours of work shaping and compacting the snow, occasionally using cardboard as support, these jumps are put to good use. One jump, seemingly one of the more popular ones, uses half of a small collapsable table, ripped in two and wedged into the side of the hill. Its missing half can be found at the hill’s top, amongst the many abandoned carboard sleds, broken plastic shards, a very snowy roll of duct tape, and a shocking, or perhaps unshocking amount of flattened “soda” cans, as a few students called them.

These jumps worked marvelously for the few students who brought skis, snowboards and tubes. They were utilized for tricks, including one skier’s impressive mid air front flip. Junior Stonehill Student, John Marinella completed said stunt numerous times with a proud grin, no doubt having had a memorable snow day like many other Stonehill students.