There’s nothing better than checking the weather app and seeing that little snowflake icon. When I woke up Tuesday morning, I was absolutely delighted to see a 100% chance of snow in the forecast. As a native Atlantan, I’ve never seen more than an inch of snow in my life. Usually it snows for five minutes, school is canceled, and then it all melts. The possibility of multiple inches was mind-boggling. I walked to class as the flakes began to fall, but then spent the next 80 minutes indoors. After my first-year seminar and a quick CCMH appointment to help me gear up mentally for finals season (a resource I’m really grateful Amherst provides), I was finally ready to enjoy the snow.
My friends and I started by wandering through the First-Year Quad. It was surreal to see such a familiar space completely transformed. From there, we headed to the Outing Club Gear Locker in search of sledding materials. The Outing Club—one of the most popular groups on campus, with around 1,000 members—offers everything from ziplining and Berkshires hikes to paintball tournaments, open ice skating, and the bonfires everyone looks forward to. The Gear Locker also lends out tents, hiking packs, pots, and more for students who want their own adventures. Over a recent long weekend, a few friends checked out gear and took an impromptu hiking trip to Vermont.
For our snow day quest, we wondered if the Outing Club had sleds available. They didn’t have official ones, but they did provide us with some excellent storage-bin lids that worked perfectly. Equipped with our makeshift sleds, we headed toward Memorial Hill.
On campus, Memorial Hill is legendary for sledding. Students tell stories of epic rides, dramatic wipeouts, and everything in between. One item on the Amherst Bucket List is “Tried to sled down a hill with an improvised item?”—a challenge we were ready to meet.
I was surprised by just how DIY many of the sleds were. We saw cardboard boxes, trash bags, and even a friend who brought a snowboard. We spent hours trying to see how far we could make it down the hill without crashing into other students. At one point, I lost my phone in the snow; at another, my friend hit a pumpkin someone had left on the slope, which made quite a mess. Eventually, after enough rides and enough windburn, people started to shiver, so we returned our gear and headed to Val for hot chocolate and tea before dinner.
All in all, it was an unforgettable first real snow—and I can’t wait to do it again the next time Amherst turns into a winter wonderland.
Stay warm out there,
Emerson
