Speed, pain and collisions

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If you haven’t been to Leonard’s Hill here in town, you haven’t been sledding, ever.

Leonard’s Hill located on Crawford Road in The Mission Creek Woodland Park, isn’t just a hill for sledding, it’s a way of life come winter time. And it’s finally winter time.

The hill itself can be navigated by any ages but no matter the age and experience you will hurt in the morning. But in reality that’s what sledding is all about, the pain.

Many people tend to think sledding is a fun family winter activity, they’re wrong. Sledding is about three things, speed, collisions and as mentioned earlier pain. Without these three things you might as well go cross country skiing with your grandma.

And Leonard’s Hill is conducive to all these aspects. It is rumored that on average six collarbones are broken on the hill annually. This of course makes the hill sound rather treacherous, but it is just a hill not a mountain.

Hills unlike mountains are a lot easier to conquer especially if you have the right sled. The right sled so to speak doesn’t need to be a fancy one either with breaks and all that jazz, a simple disc slide will usually suffice, if used properly (see Adam Graham’s story on technique).

We found that the best sled that utilizes all three aspects of sledding can be found at Target, 4097 E. Bluegrass St. for $4.99. The name of that sled, The Snow Monster.

The Snow Monster which comes in various colors (I chose blue) lives up to it’s name. After one run on with the Monster, you will never be the same.

The Monster changes you, it gets in there like a jackhammer and when it comes out you’re a different person. The Snow Monster is fast and is completely uncontrollable, which helps to contribute to the big three of any serious sledders goals.

Not being able to control the Monster fulfills the collision and pain aspects of the sledding theory. After all collisions with other sledders at high speeds increases the pain monumentally.

The Snow Monster and old man Leonard’s hill are a perfect match whether, it’s because of the speed or the moguls found on Leonard himself.