A Morning of Sledding

We were able to spend a day sledding down a hill. It works like this -- drag your sled up the hill, wait for a seemingly clear path to emerge, and let it rip! This particular sledding area is at the foot of a hill and is shared by regular skiers finishing their runs, as well as some snowboarders getting lessons. Additionally, there are a few parents giving lessons to their young ones. And then there are the sledders.


It is a busy place.

To me, the inexperienced girl from South Louisiana, it seems that a "Sled at Your Own Risk" sign should be posted. No one seems overly concerned. As often is the case, everyone seems to know the rules. We think we do -- but, clearly, not.

Don't be fooled. The run is a good distance and the hill pretty steep.
Maddy and her Dad get it moving in the photo below.

Once our momentum got going, we were moving pretty quickly.
The breaks? Use your feet!
The steering? Use your body!

Nearly every single time that we went down that hill, we took somebody out. No kidding. I took out a kid, probably 4, on his skis. Maddy hit a middle-aged man from behind, and, bamm, brought him to his knees. Careening down backwards, Maddy struck another unsuspecting sledder. The path was clear. We were cursed. People appeared out of nowhere.

If you look closely at this photo, you can see Maddy in the moment before she took out the middle-aged man. She was in the care of her Uncle D while Mr. Duncan and I shared a beer. Perfect hit.

And between runs? Why bratwurst and beers, of course! It was a delightful morning for us.

Yes. It is as completely picturesque as it looks in this photo.

About the crashes --- No one got terribly upset with us.

We are responsible people who are generally overly cautious and don't find humor in the pain of others. This day -- we could not stop laughing. It was bad. Very, very bad. I'm still laughing. Awful. I know.