The Catalyst

By Cassondra Renfro, Reporter

The wind whips my face as I race down the snowy slope, gaining speed with every second. My silver racing sled careens around a corner as we hurtle closer and closer to my self-made jump, the blades of the sled cutting smoothly through the fresh snow. The jump is 20 feet away, 10 feet, 5, I’ve made contact. I fly through the air (not very gracefully, but oh well), taking in the cool winter air as I go. Suddenly, a thought occurs to me: the ground looks pretty far away. Laying sprawled in the snow, with my sled lying some 8 feet away, splintered beyond recognition, I begin to realize that perhaps sledding isn’t my thing.

Despite my inferior sledding skills, not everyone feels that sledding is simply a good way to “stretch” your back beyond its natural limits. According to www.crhlawfirm.com/, sleds were originally used for “transportation of goods and people on frozen surfaces where wheels often did not work.” Later, sleds were used to transport heavy cannons in the early years of the Revolution to oust the British from Boston. Nowadays, sleds have become used for more recreational purposes, including luge, bobsledding, tobogganing and extreme sledding.

The third, extreme sledding, is becoming more and more popular as thrill seekers strap the Mad River Rocket to their legs before flying of cliffs and speeding between trees. According to www.absnews.go.com, the inventor of this sled, David Sellers, says that he and his friends didn’t like the idea of sledding down a hill face first and had the brainstorm to create a sled that would allow the rider to kneel, but still sit up to see where his or her next crash site might be. Rocket riders use their hands to turn left and right, breaking a tube of snow (created by the track of the sled) in their wake, allowing for more precise control. Sellers believes his invention may be an alternative to skiing (possibly for the inept, such as myself). The sleds are made out of a recycled plastic from trash can lids, and don’t require the removal of trees in order to use them to their full potential. These sleds allow you to sled anywhere, even in wooded areas, making them the new, eco friendly extreme sport.

Many students (6 out of 10 polled) find sledding a bit frightening, saying that no control makes for a big crash. Others (3 out of 10) find sledding to be too juvenile; sledding should just be for little kids, “their bones grow back quicker.” A sophomore boy finds that “sledding would be a lot cooler if the sled had an engine on the back. That would be sweet.”

Despite the obvious dangers of sledding (imminent catastrophes, collisions with trees or other sledders, etc.), a new wave is beginning to sweep across the winter sports community. Sledding ain’t just for the kiddies: if you want to test your daring (and feel a little safer knowing that you can steer), try extreme sledding. Keep the tradition alive.