I grew up in upstate New York. The winters were long with a fair amount of snow. The area I lived in had what they call hills since they had nice rounded tops but in most people's terms they are mountains with deep valleys. During the winter we skied, went sledding did some ice skating, snowball fights, building snowmen and other winter sports. One day when I was a junior in high school there were 5 of us sitting in Jeff's basement drinking some beer. We came up with the idea of going tobogganing. Over the years different places for sledding were open or closed . This was usually due to some accident where someone was either seriously hurt or killed. Toboggans were not allowed in any of them since they are impossible to slow down or steer and they are generally dangerous.
None of us even owned a toboggan but after calling around we found that Pam would lend us her nice wooden 4 person toboggan.
We were also discussing where to go. We came up with a place we had seen from the road but it was off in the distance. We hopped in the car and found a way to park near the top of the hill. It was on the side of the mountain but part of it was also excavated as a dirt pit. This made it even steeper. We realized it was much steeper that we had expected. There were 3 parts to the hill. First, it went down steeply for about 50 yards where they had excavated into the mountain. Then it flattened out for maybe 30 or 40 yards. Then it went down again very steep for 60 or 70 yards. Since there were 5 of us and the toboggan was only a 4 person toboggan we had also brought a plastic 1 person plastic toboggan where the person lays down on their stomach and slides down. Kevin volunteered to be the guinea pig and go down alone on the plastic sled. We watched as he dragged his feet to keep his speed down but he made it the whole way without incident. He gave us the OK signal.
At the top of the hill we were arguing. No one wanted to sit in the front of the toboggan. Somehow I got elected. Getting aboard wasn't quite that simple. We found a small semi flat space but it wasn't quite long enough for the whole toboggan. Gary, the football, basketball, shotput discus player(big guy), had to sit down in the last spot. I climbed on the first spot that was hanging out in mid-air. Steve got on behind me and then Jeff and Gary. For those non tobogganers you sit down and wrap your legs around the person in front of you. Then we pushed off.
Almost immediately we were going very fast and picking up speed. There was a rumble to it as we went. There are no brakes on a toboggan. By the time we made it to the flat area we were just hauling butt. I thought at least we might slow down a little before we got to the next steep section. At this point things went into slow motion for me….Kevin had coasted over the snow here but the toboggan with four people was a little different. There was a 3 foot deep snow drift in this flat spot. Instead of going over it we were going straight through it. Snow was sandblasting my face I had to cover it with my hands. I couldn't see anything. Then POOF!!. We came out the other side….It was a relief for just a second. Immediately there was a new problem. The hill was sloping down very fast and we were flying straight out. We were high in the air. The toboggan started to tip forward and soon we were headed straight down. We were all still firmly connected to each other and to the toboggan. I remember thinking(briefly) that the hill was steep and we should land and continue on down the hill. BUT…that was not what happened… We were coming straight down and the toboggan stuck. Everyone landed on top of me in a huge crush and I started sliding down the hill with people on top of me. I had my legs spread far apart and the side of my face was pressed to the ground between my legs. Obviously I was waaaay more flexible than I am today. After what seemed like forever of pain I was able to move one leg toward the other and I started rolling down the hill. This caused everyone that was on top of me to break apart and start tumbling separately down the hill. The hill was steep and we had been going fast so we tumbled all the way to the bottom. The snow was deep at the bottom. I remember laying there buried in the snow still in pain from getting crushed. I could hear Kevin and others laughing. Then I heard "where's Don and Steve". Not feeling so good I slowly stood up. There was a slight gasp. While we were sliding down on my face, the snow had sandpapered off a layer or two of skin and I had blood dripping down the side of my face. Steve was in way worse shape. He was having trouble standing. Of course the car was at the top of the hill. Gary helped get him to the top and we dropped him off at his house.
Pam's toboggan had broken on the impact
We found out the next day that Steve had gotten the worst of it. He had broken both legs. I think this was from the big impact with all of us still knotted together.
The stupid things young people do.
None of us even owned a toboggan but after calling around we found that Pam would lend us her nice wooden 4 person toboggan.
We were also discussing where to go. We came up with a place we had seen from the road but it was off in the distance. We hopped in the car and found a way to park near the top of the hill. It was on the side of the mountain but part of it was also excavated as a dirt pit. This made it even steeper. We realized it was much steeper that we had expected. There were 3 parts to the hill. First, it went down steeply for about 50 yards where they had excavated into the mountain. Then it flattened out for maybe 30 or 40 yards. Then it went down again very steep for 60 or 70 yards. Since there were 5 of us and the toboggan was only a 4 person toboggan we had also brought a plastic 1 person plastic toboggan where the person lays down on their stomach and slides down. Kevin volunteered to be the guinea pig and go down alone on the plastic sled. We watched as he dragged his feet to keep his speed down but he made it the whole way without incident. He gave us the OK signal.
At the top of the hill we were arguing. No one wanted to sit in the front of the toboggan. Somehow I got elected. Getting aboard wasn't quite that simple. We found a small semi flat space but it wasn't quite long enough for the whole toboggan. Gary, the football, basketball, shotput discus player(big guy), had to sit down in the last spot. I climbed on the first spot that was hanging out in mid-air. Steve got on behind me and then Jeff and Gary. For those non tobogganers you sit down and wrap your legs around the person in front of you. Then we pushed off.
Almost immediately we were going very fast and picking up speed. There was a rumble to it as we went. There are no brakes on a toboggan. By the time we made it to the flat area we were just hauling butt. I thought at least we might slow down a little before we got to the next steep section. At this point things went into slow motion for me….Kevin had coasted over the snow here but the toboggan with four people was a little different. There was a 3 foot deep snow drift in this flat spot. Instead of going over it we were going straight through it. Snow was sandblasting my face I had to cover it with my hands. I couldn't see anything. Then POOF!!. We came out the other side….It was a relief for just a second. Immediately there was a new problem. The hill was sloping down very fast and we were flying straight out. We were high in the air. The toboggan started to tip forward and soon we were headed straight down. We were all still firmly connected to each other and to the toboggan. I remember thinking(briefly) that the hill was steep and we should land and continue on down the hill. BUT…that was not what happened… We were coming straight down and the toboggan stuck. Everyone landed on top of me in a huge crush and I started sliding down the hill with people on top of me. I had my legs spread far apart and the side of my face was pressed to the ground between my legs. Obviously I was waaaay more flexible than I am today. After what seemed like forever of pain I was able to move one leg toward the other and I started rolling down the hill. This caused everyone that was on top of me to break apart and start tumbling separately down the hill. The hill was steep and we had been going fast so we tumbled all the way to the bottom. The snow was deep at the bottom. I remember laying there buried in the snow still in pain from getting crushed. I could hear Kevin and others laughing. Then I heard "where's Don and Steve". Not feeling so good I slowly stood up. There was a slight gasp. While we were sliding down on my face, the snow had sandpapered off a layer or two of skin and I had blood dripping down the side of my face. Steve was in way worse shape. He was having trouble standing. Of course the car was at the top of the hill. Gary helped get him to the top and we dropped him off at his house.
Pam's toboggan had broken on the impact
We found out the next day that Steve had gotten the worst of it. He had broken both legs. I think this was from the big impact with all of us still knotted together.
The stupid things young people do.
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