Comments on: Sledding Plummer’s Hollow

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:34:48 +0000

You guys should come out and try it sometime! I don’t know if we’ll have any more good sledding conditions this winter, but it’s possible.

By: Gina

Gina — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:15:33 +0000

There are few things more fun than sledding. I’m very jealous of your run. Looks like a LOT of fun.

By: Another sled ride down the hollow « Plummer’s Hollow, Pennsylvania

Another sled ride down the hollow « Plummer’s Hollow, Pennsylvania — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:11:59 +0000

[...] Blogged at much greater length at my personal site, Via Negativa. [...]

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:43:39 +0000

So you are raising Yankees, at least! But don’t worry, this winter is an abberation, I’m sure. In the future, I think we can expect very occasional sledding conditions as our winters resemble more and more what you grew up with.

By: marly youmans

marly youmans — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:39:37 +0000

Great sound effects, and the camera angles were scary here and there… Watching it, I realized that I will never, ever be a Yankee, no matter how long I live up here.

At this very moment, my youngest is flying down the big hill at Glimmerglass State Park (or maybe complaining about walking back up.)

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:14:50 +0000

Well, as I say in the essay, I do like the silence of a sled run — no sense ruining it by screaming! Stearing is with the feet. The steering bar on my sled is so loose, it can turn on a dime. For the one sharp bend near the beginning, I drag my left foot on the ground briefly, both to slow down and help pivot around the turn.

By: mary mccloskey

mary mccloskey — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:44:49 +0000

Man, I loved this. But you made barely a sound, even when the hill got really steep and you were flying. I would have been squealing the whole way down. How did you stay so quiet? Also, how did you steer the thing. I remember when I was a kid we used to put a big rope through the front of our wooden sled and we could steer a bit that way. I am sorely tempted to try a hill here soon. I miss sledding a lot. Last time I went was about 15 years ago with my teenage son and his friend.

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:24:00 +0000

It was actually scarier to watch it than it was to make it. There was no point during the ride when I felt in danger of going off the road (though I did once, a couple years ago), but watching the video I was like, “Jesus! Quit leaning! Look out!”

If you do that canyon sled ride you will become a local legend, I’m sure. You should definitely stash a sled there just in case.

By: bev

bev — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:34:58 +0000

Well, that was terrific! Brought back some sledding memories for me. Five stars for this year’s video. Very exciting, especially after about 4:00 minute mark. Gets downright scary in a couple of places on the turns. Watching it is making me think of what a gas it would be to sled down from this place up on the mountainside, down the road in my canyon, and on into town when there has been snow and ice (bet last winter’s little storm would have been perfect). However, I probably couldn’t find a sled for love or money within at least a couple of hundred miles of here 0 maybe more. Perhaps I should bring one down with me next year and hope for a bit of snow!

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 02:04:25 +0000

Hi Barbara – Thanks for the comment. Sounds like you had a great dad! Depending on the conditions here, sometimes I go sledding on slopes much steeper than any in this video. Once in a rare while, a deep layer of snow will thaw, freeze solid, ice over, and get a thin layer on snow — enough for traction. Then the entire field becomes a sled run, and if I can claw my way to the top of the powerline right-of-way on the higher of the two ridges that form the hollow, I can try going down that, too. Probably not a terribly swift idea without a crash helmet.