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Students enjoyed the first big snowfall by sleigh riding down the hill behind Rish.

Casey Palmer

March 1, 2012

Flurries fell from the sky and the ground turned white as the first big snow arrived in Bluefield on Sunday, Feb. 19.

That afternoon the snow started sticking to the ground and students at Bluefield College got excited.  First-time freshmen finally got a glimpse of winter and upperclassmen got their snowy fix.

	J.D. Taylor and Matt Hayes try an alternative way to sleigh ride.

“It felt like spring all of winter and now we have snow!” said Cary Carpenter, a junior from Vinton, Va.

Carpenter reminisced on a time she went sleigh riding with her friend Amber during her freshman year when they flew over the hill close to the dome.

“We were in air for like three or four seconds,” said Carpenter. “It was insane and it was so much fun, but I would never ever do it again!”

While some students chose to sleigh ride and fight the cold, Amber Macdonald, a senior from Beckley, W.Va., had a different idea. She baked cookies and sold them to students who wanted something sweet but couldn’t go out and get it.

“I thought tonight would be a great night to bake cookies and sell them because a lot of people would be staying indoors,” said MacDonald.

Ben Scearce, a freshman from Danville, Va., said his favorite thing to do in the snow is ‘truck sledding’.

“It’s when you go out in your vehicle to a parking lot and do twists and turns,” said Scearce, who had to drive back from Danville in the snow on Sunday.

“It normally takes me two and a half hours, but it took me four and a half hours,” said Scearce.

Students including Scearce gathered on the hill behind Rish Hall to sleigh ride, and some even went for the first time.

Antoine Wilkerson, a freshman from Richmond, Va., had never been sleigh riding until Monday night.

“I didn’t think it was going to be that fast!” said Wilkerson.

BC students received the word Sunday night that the college would be on a two-hour delay Monday, but early that morning classes were canceled.

“It can mess your day up,” said Wilkerson. “But you can sleigh ride and still have fun!”

Zach Wilson, a freshman from Atlanta, Ga., said this was the first time he had ever seen snow.

“It’s amazing and sleigh riding is fun,” said Wilson.

Dylan Kidd, a freshman from Bland, Va., gave the secret to good sleigh riding.

“You got to spray the sled down with a little bit of ‘grease lightening’ to make it slick,” said Kidd. “Putting trash bags over them works too, but spraying them down works the best!”

Codey Smith, a junior from Spotsylvania, Va., said he’s had quite a few accidents sleigh riding on the hill behind Rish.

“Tonight I got turned around and wiped out big time, but it was fun!” said Smith, whose favorite memory is riding his sled all the way to the fence at the bottom of the hill.

J.D. Taylor, a sophomore from Bluefield, Va., said he also loves the snow.

“If it’s going to be cold it might as well be white outside,” said Taylor.

The college was closed on Monday and Tuesday due to power outages on campus. Power was fully restored Tuesday afternoon.

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