ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 11, 1996 TAG: 9601110069
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
What a job I have.
While most people were pushing snow out of their driveways Monday, only to see snowplows push it back in, I was out sledding. On company time.
But this wasn't strictly pleasure. I was on a mission - to find the slickest and steepest slopes in the whole snowy Roanoke Valley.
My qualifications: I had the time, the inclination and in some cases the lack of intelligence to try them out.
My methods: Like wine tasters, who take one sip and spit it out, I took one run on each hill (and spit out whatever flew into my mouth on the way).
That said, these, in no particular order, are my favorites.
Disclaimer #1: I am a foolish, somewhat immature 29-year-old, and took these rides with little forethought. If you are as lopsided in the head as I am, you can sled these hills at your own risk.
NORWICH HILL: Intersection of Bridge and Mountain View Terrace, in the Norwich area of Southwest Roanoke.
In Norwich, they do it in the road. Sledding that is. This is a long, steep street that runs down toward the Roanoke River and the Crappie Hole bait and tackle shop.
And Norwichians do it on just about anything they can find, including a curled up "Loose Gravel" sign.
"We had a big ol' sheet of plastic out here this morning going down on it," said James Roop, a 30-year-old sheet metal worker with the day off. He and twin brothers Darren and Dennis Ritch, both 25, had been floating their combined 600 lbs. down the street on a massive inner tube for several hours.
Roop, Darren Ritch and I piled onto the tube and powered down the hill like a three-headed juggernaut, Ritch yelling all the way for some children to move aside, lest they be scattered like so many duckpins.
Upside: For sheer speed and distance, this hill is tops. When we piled onto that tube, we didn't stop till we got to the BP Station some 250 yards from where we started.
Downside: The walk back up. Even driving up this hill makes me tired.
And the traffic. This road is NOT CLOSED OFF. Because it's steep, few cars try to drive up it, but sledding on a public street is always a risk.
Disclaimer #2: I am a foolish, somewhat immature 29-year-old, and in no way am I advocating that anyone sled down Norwich Hill or any other public street.
GHENT PARK: Wasena Avenue at Memorial Bridge in Southwest Roanoke.
Bill Webster, a Raleigh Court resident out for some sledding with his son, Ivey, was kind enough to loan me a sled to test this run.
Having made that run and given it some thought, I'm beginning to wonder what I ever did to Bill Webster to deserve it.
The sled was one of those plastic, molded ones, with one plastic steering lever broken off. In short, a slick, ebony deathtrap.
I sat up in it and headed off the launch sight, a nearly vertical 8 foot drop that fired me down the hill. I rattled over mini-moguls for about 60 yards before careening headlong into the deep snow on the right side.
It took three St. Bernard dogs and a keg of cognac to retrieve me.
Upside: The launch sight combined with a pretty long run, about 100 yards.
Downside: According to Marty Church, who, with his sons Ben and Weston, has thoroughly tested the hill, it's ``the possibility of running into one of the trees at the bottom. That always adds to the excitement.''
Extra credit: ``Plus the Community Inn is nearby,'' said Bridget DeCicco, a Raleigh Court resident. For hot chocolate, of course.
MONTEREY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Plantation Road across from the Elizabeth Arden plant in North Roanoke.
If you seek technical sledding and the miracle of flight, this is your spot.
This week, it features a four-foot ramp and a serpentine bobsled course with high-bank turns, all designed by three Ingersoll-Rand engineers who live in a nearby apartment complex.
The engineers - Greg Prouse, Paul Jaminet and Dan Worthing - loaned me a one-person inner tube to test the jump.
After hitting the ramp and flying a good 12 feet - no kidding - I was glad to have the tube between me and the snow. I still rated a good score - 9.5 - from onlooker Matt Wasmund, a Floridian who was stranded in Roanoke.
Disclaimer #3: My lower back is beginning to ache. This kind of jumping is not for the faint of heart, or the faint of vertebrae.
Upside: Variety. What with the bobsled course, the ramp, and a third track that makes for a good long run to the baseball field below, there's something here for everyone. Also, there are no obstacles at the bottom.
Downside: My aching, somewhat immature, 29-year-old back.
LENGTH: Medium: 84 linesby CNB