Why are there snow days? The best information is probably on Western’s website (FAQ or inclement weather announcement page).

On the rare snow day, what is there to do for fun on campus?

Sledding

Where to sled: Sledding is best done on a hill, so I took an image of campus from Google maps and painted a map of the hills on campus. Roads and walk ways can be sledded on, early in the morning, but be careful not to sled into vehicles or people. Walk and roads ways will be salted or sanded and later cleared. Other hills are not always great because they are covered in trees, or don’t have sufficient sliding space.

How to sled: The trick with sledding is to have so little friction you can glide to the bottom of the hill. The traditional, bulky, sturdy, plastic sled is efficient and generally safe, but there are other ways to sled as well. I understand that dry, thick, corrugated, cardboard works somewhat, but when it becomes soggy it isn’t so useful. My personal favorite way to sled is to zip up my coat and slide on my belly.  In case you weren’t aware (yes, I saw these) plastic lids or containers or your feet are not good transport to the bottom of a hill. Plastic lids are too flimsy and will break. Plastic containers and “snowboarding without the snowboard” do not give you good balance. If you try the last two methods, there is a high probability of falling, tumbling and landing in an uncomfortable way.

Snow people   

Snow people are fairly popular on campus. Most consist of three balls and range in height from six inches to about a yard. Snow people might populate red square’s fountain edge or the rec center field.

Snow ball fight

This is the favorite snow activity. Snow ball fights might pop up in any flat, open places. Snow ball fights are usually spontaneous, though not always. I heard of at least one organized snow ball fight.

Other

Some interesting things to do in the snow: One time several students and I even made an “igloo”, well, a small circular wall with a gap at one spot. I’ve also seen people ski through campus.

Warm

Many students like to stay in. Or maybe take a short walk/force march with   roommates. When Western students do go outside, coffee is a favorite way to warm up. However, if the university is closed, so are the coffee shops and convince stores on campus. To get coffee students must go to the dining halls or take a trip downtown.

This page makes it seem as though students at Western students spend a lot of time playing in the snow. That is not so. We mostly walk atop the snow, packing it down. If it is snowing I recommend staying safe and having fun.

Thanks to Word for the icons.