By Andrew Jenner, Daily News-Record
On Tuesday, Jan. 27, some snow actually fell from the sky and piled up an inch or two – enough generally to paralyze the Harrisonburg metro area for a day or two and put the city’s sledding hills back into business (briefly, very briefly).
Eastern Mennonite University students Aron Brydge (bottom) and Travis Nyce, both of Harrisonburg, slide down the hill behind EMU. Though much of the hill has been tamed by parking lots and other growth at the university, the steepest part remains a staple for Harrisonburg sledding. Photo courtesy of Daily News-Record
But Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Feb. 2, portending six more weeks of winter, we got another wintry mess this week and odds are it’ll happen again. All this to say: it pays to acquaint yourself with the area’s best sledding hills beforehand, because you’ve got to be opportunistic about winter fun here at 38.4 degrees North. (And yes, we realize it’ll probably be nice and balmy as this goes to print, but such is the nature of production deadlines, so back off).
From the many, many candidates, see&do picked five local hills with good public access, ranging from grandma-friendly to severely/profoundly dangerous, all of which get regular use whenever it snows enough to warrant an attempt (described below in no particular order).
The Keister Hill
This one, in front of Keister Elementary School on Maryland Avenue, sees heavy sledding traffic, thanks to its convenient location and size.
“It’s just a big hill and it’s safe. There’s nothing at the bottom they could get hurt on,” said Nicole Kyger, who brought her two sons all the way from Bridgewater to shred the slope last Tuesday afternoon, as the snow began to turn to sleet.
Keister’s snazziest feature is the hump near the very bottom, big enough to launch a few feet in the air if you hit it right. Kyger’s son, Spencer Ritchie, an eighth-grader at J. Frank Hillyard Middle School, was using a plastic toboggan style sled that didn’t handle well, though, and he was lucky if he made it halfway down to the jump without tumbling out of control. Next time he’ll bring a tube, he said, with a gleam in his eye, and take to the air.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Purcell Park
Tucked away in the southernmost corner of Purcell Park, between Blacks Run and the interstate, is a relatively short slope that, thanks to its extreme steepness and abundance of hazards, offers a challenge to the most serious and accomplished of amateur sledders. It’s a bit of a hike – just get on the outer loop walking trail, head south and you’ll eventually find it – and it also gets a lot of use, particularly from JMU students who live nearby, according to Kari Sherwood, a senior. She and a group of friends capitalized on their unexpected snow day last week to brave the Purcell hill on neon plastic disc sleds.
A successful run here requires you to pick a perfect line between the oak trees, dodge the large concrete manhole, avoid the sycamore toward the bottom and screech to a quick halt before you shoot into the creek. There are also some gentle knolls nearby, for the fainter of heart.
Difficulty: Ranges from Beginner to Advanced
The Waterman Hill
Harrisonburg’s bunny slope is on the west side of Waterman Elementary School, bounded by Gay and Willow streets. It’s short, and it’s gentle, and it’s obstacle-free, and the young sledder will lose all momentum way before they get anywhere near the road or any other source of parental angst. When see&do visited last week, we found tracks testifying to sledding activity earlier in the day, though the sleet had already driven everyone indoors.
Difficulty: Beginner
ISAT
“This is THE big hill,” said Erin Gallagher, one of dozens of JMU students clustered in front of the ISAT building on east campus, atop a large, sled-friendly hill that tilts down toward UREC, the campus recreation center.
The group of students was using all sorts of sledding apparatus, including several people descending the hill on lunch trays pinched from the cafeteria. These have become something of a collector’s item, now that the JMU cafeteria’s gone trayless for environmental reasons (several girls, speaking off-record due to the possibly-illicit nature of their cafeteria theft, speculated that the trays could fetch a nice sum on the JMU black market).
Beside them, Sean Patterson, who grew up in town and has tried pretty much every hill around, said this is the best of them all, before he strapped on a snowboard, launched downhill and crashed about 15 feet later.
Difficulty: Intermediate
EMU Hill
This steep hill on the northwest edge of campus, the mainstay of the Park View sledding scene for decades, has been gradually tamed by expanding parking lots and facilities at Eastern Mennonite University. The steepest part remains intact, however, and the terrain is rumpled and interesting enough to keep it a popular destination. (The fact that EMU’s privately-owned puts this one in a bit of a special class; Physical Plant Director Eldon Kurtz said the school tries to strike a balance between fun and safety, and emphasized the at-your-own-risk nature of any sledding activities to occur there.)
Years ago, when EMU President Loren Swartzendruber was a student at the seminary, he’d take his kids out on the EMU hill, though he said his official duties have kept him too busy to hit the slopes yet during his tenure as university president. He will become a grandfather in May, however, which he said will give him new incentive a few years from now to dust off his sled.
Difficulty: Intermediate