My first year here all my Massachusetts friends looked at my wardrobe and said “Victoria get ready for a Massachusetts winter.” And me being the stubborn creature that I am I thought, “what are they talking about.” It then proceeded to not snow at all my first year. Well, it did snow, it just so happened to be after we got sent home because of COVID-19. Oof that makes me feel old. I started college before COVID-19 did that thing. 

Anyway in some ways it was a letdown. I didn’t get to experience sledding or snowball fights like every college kid should. But don’t you worry, New England weather made sure I never missed out on those opportunities again and it decided to snow a whole bunch my sophomore and junior years. 

Now as a senior I’m a self-proclaimed seasoned veteran when it comes to knowing the hills to sled on this campus. Because yes, while the hills on this campus do get very taxing on the quads, they are ideal for sledding activities. 

1. The Farber Library Hill
   Easy number one draft pick for me is the hill right next to Farber Library—not the pavement one that you walk up to get to your humanities classes. No, no that really steep one right next to the library that brings you down to the marshlands on campus.
   This hill really has it all. The steepness gives you great speed when accelerating down the hill. It also has the best ramp potential to be made out of the snow. It’s also a pretty popping spot since the cool kids know to go there to sled. The community is definitely a huge perk of the spot. Sometimes just walking by at night people will stop you and offer up their sleds so you can get in on the fun.
   With all this said, there is one huge down(hill) side (pun entirely intended). Since the hill is so steep it makes it semi-difficult to get back up the hill. You have to hold on for dear life to the trees along the side and also dodge people who are sledding down full speed at you. You will get those little pokey balls stuck to your jacket and hat too if you aren’t careful on your walk back up. For sure a workout by the end with all the uphill walking, but very worth it for those five seconds sliding down hill at full speed. 
2. The Grad Quad Hills
   This sledding spot is a bit of a secret on campus because it requires you to go all the way to Grad. For those who don’t live in Grad, you may not be willing to make that walk in undesirable weather conditions. But for those who live in Grad, you know you get to enjoy the privacy of the Grad hills with the comfort of being able to sled wherever you want.
   This spot is not nearly as crowded at Farber Library Hill. I would say that the hill between 111 and 112 is not as fun as the hill between 113 and 114. (Oh how confusing this part must be for the people who don’t know Charles River Apartments).
   The great part about this sledding experience is that you have stairs on either side of the hill that you can take back to the top which is entirely ideal. A pitfall of this spot, however, is that you do have to weave in and out of a few trees. Or, alternatively, you can sled right into them; that is one way to stop your downward motion. You do however have enough space so that you don’t slide into the road but rather stay on the grass.
   Grad’s hills are also ideal to race your friends down since multiple people can go at once with no risk of running into each other; though you do run the risk of sledding off the grass and onto the sidewalk into one of the doors. 
3. The Hill by the Bridge
   This should be a name for a book or something. Anyway, the hill next to the bridge is a whole lot of fun, though it is quite dangerous. Like this is a level five hill, if you know what I mean. You pick up a lot of speed on the decline, though this does make one nervous that they are going to run into that rock barrier that separates you from the road.
   There are also some more obstacles between old tree trunks and large rocks sticking out of the ground that you have to watch out for. They will hurt your butt if you sled over them. But very, very fun to go down. Just know in advance where the obstacles are and you’re good. It’s also not so terribly steep to walk back up which is a perk. 
4. The Baseball Field Hill
   This is by far the most wholesome hill and maybe the one beginners should go to. The baseball field hill is not too steep, not terribly crowded and does not run into oncoming traffic.Its proximity to main campus is also a big plus when it’s cold outside.
   You know that this is a good hill to sled on because families will bring their kids there to go sledding and it’s absolutely adorable. Highly recommend this hill for the West Coast kids who are seeing snow for the first time.  

So grab your friends and your sleds and get ready for some fun. Put on your gloves and your layers and go hit the slopes on campus because these hills are only fun to climb when you get to sled down them.