(Photo courtesy of UMass Lowell) Sledding is a common past-time during the winter months.

Andrew Wilcox
Connector Editor

Sledding is as timeless a winter activity as building a Snowman and having a snowball fight in the backyard. To some degree, there is no better feeling on a cold winter day than jumping onto a piece of plastic and sliding down an icy slope.

Naturally, for an activity as synonymous with winter as hot chocolate and snow angels, sledding has taken UML by storm after the passing of the most recent Nor’easter winter storm Kenan.

While most take to nearby hills by a park, many UML students walked outside to the Allen House on South Campus and began their winter day there.

During the storm many students were found sledding down the slope, either from the road and into the snow-covered basketball court and field or starting as high as the Allen House and bouncing down the hill.

And truthfully there may be no better spot to sled on all of campus. Could arguments be made for other places? Maybe. But here’s why sledding on south campus is just a whole new experience on its own.

For many people who live at Riverview Suites, Sheehy or Concordia its very convenient. Its right next to Sheehy. It’s behind Dugan Hall and the Allen House on the connecting road towards Riverview Suites, sliding down onto the basketball court.

Does sliding on the basketball court sound confusing? Probably but you may be a half-glass empty type of person if that’s what you’re thinking. There are plenty of clearings between the nets and trashcans that offer plenty of space for people to sled.

Regardless of whether you have a physical sled or not, the convenience allows you to just go and come up with some sort of alternative without having to necessarily worry too much before-hand.

But for people not living on South, they probably will have to worry about what they are going to use as their sled. South Campus is a decent distance and especially hard to get to in the middle of a blizzard. Why should they bother?

Well South Campus sledding has plenty to offer, that’s why. The height may be minimal, but the incline is steep and fun. Want more sledding space? The hill on the side of the Allen House offers some.

Don’t have a sled? Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you walked through 4 feet of snow. But don’t worry.  Make an alternative, like cardboard or the lid of a trashcan. Just make sure it’s safe and durable. Go nuts.

To top it all off at the bottom of the hill is open space, free for snowball fights with snow forts, building snowmen or just chilling out by the stairs and watching the storm over the Merrimack.

Sledding down into the basketball court does offer some obstacles and sledding down from the Allen House does plateau along the road before continuing down into the basketball court. Always make sure to be careful and safely direct your sled. Sled at your own risk.

There isn’t just sledding at South Campus, there’s a whole bunch of all your winter activities.  Does this sound like an advertisement? Maybe. Are you convinced? I hope so. Trek on down to the Allen House and have the best sledding experience UMass Lowell can offer.