A Dangerous Ride

Snow.

      For some people, a feeling of dread settles over them at the mere thought of winter, with its freezing cold temperatures, and snow, and ice. But for other people, the word sends a thrill of excitement racing through their entire body. Even if the winter is filled with a hundred snow storms, these people still love the last snowstorm just as much as the very first one of the season. I am one of those people.

     Let me tell you why.
     Sledding is one of the most fun winter sports in the world. Last Friday, at our friends' farm, I experienced a few short hours of sledding, real sledding, for the first time in my life.

     Esther and I brought the Flexible Flyer sleds that belonged to our parents, and our friends brought round saucer sleds and surf board sleds. I decided to go down the hill on the Flexible Flyer first because it seemed like a fairly undangerous option for my first ride down a hill of this size. 

     Now I know why they call it a “flyer”. The first bump sent me flying down the hill and landing in a snow-covered heap (with an evil-looking sled rattling down after me).

     I didn't use the Flexible Flyer too much after that.

This is what happens when you try to sled down the hill on a rusty Flexible Flyer. (I'm the one in the teal coat who just fell off the sled.)

     Racing down the hill on the sleds was so much fun, we didn't even think about the long walk back to the top. Of course, we thought about it a lot when we had to trudge back up! The hill was so long and so steep, we had to rest many times before we got to the summit. Of course, the snow made it a million times harder –every footstep we took was sucked up by about 6 inches of snow. 

 

    Those flying saucer sleds were something else. As soon as you took your hands off the ground at the top of the slope, all the way down to the bottom, you spun, around and around and around and around (are you dizzy yet? Because I sure was!) 

     Sometimes the saucer dumped you off right in the middle of the slope and you kept right on sliding. 

 Sometimes you hit a bump and did a complete somersault, like me. 

  Or sometimes, you happened to hit someone pulling up a snow tube on a leash, and you, your boots, the sled, your socks, and your gloves went flying in all different directions, like Esther.

Tragically, there is no photo of Esther's near death experience
involving the snow tube on a leash, so you'll just have to look
at this picture of me instead.

     Although summer will always be my favorite season of the year, I love winter. I an sure I will always remember this first time sledding on such a huge hill as one of the most thrilling (and possibly dangerous) experiences of this winter.