Oakland Snow Day: Students ski, sled down snowy streets

While cars slipped and stalled driving through snowy roads on Sunday afternoon, Pitt students navigated the snow-covered hills and streets of Oakland on sleds, skis, snowboards, trash bags, pieces of cardboard and even car bumpers.

As of Sunday at 5 p.m., Pittsburgh has received 10.2 inches of snowfall as part of a powerful winter storm hitting across the country. Many students took advantage of the snow, leaving their schoolwork behind to sled down snowy streets.

Jimmy Konstanty and Mark Hetrick, both senior mechanical engineering majors, took their skis out to the streets. Konstanty and Hetrick stopped at Joncaire Street and said they were on their way to Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park.

“Every single street that we passed on the way, there was somebody sledding,” Hetrick said.

“It’s a beautiful day. The vibes are immaculate.”

Konstanty said he has been skiing his whole life, and the streets of Oakland are “a little rockier” than traditional ski slopes with “unexpected terrain here and there.” Still, Konstanty said, getting outside is more enjoyable than doing schoolwork.

“We just saw the beautiful eight inches of snow out here and said, ‘We might as well seize the day.’ We don’t want to pay for a [ski] lift ticket if we don’t need to,” Konstanty said. “There’s a big community feel. I feel like this brings students together, and so I’m glad to be part of it.”

Jack Degaetano, a junior studying political science and law, criminal justice and society, and Matthew Antonucci, a junior mechanical engineering major, stood on the corner of Welsford Street and Boulevard of the Allies, watching their friend snowboard in the street.

“We’re just snowboarding down the boulevard,” Antonucci said. “We were also trying to build a jump in Zulema and snowboard down that, but it wasn’t that steep, so we came over here.”

Antonucci said they were also throwing snowballs, wrestling and “acting like kids” with their neighbors.

“Everyone’s out on the street, just hanging out,” Antonucci said. “It’s kind of like our own street party in the snow.” 

Degaetano described their activities on Welsford as “improvised.”

“I want to sled at some point, but it’s also like, I don’t want to walk to go to Schenley or anything,” Degaetano said. “We’re making the best of what we can like with what we have here.”

Improvisation was a common theme on students’ snow day. Alex Briglia, a junior mechanical engineering major, used a car bumper to sled down Joncaire Street. 

“This bumper was in my backyard when I moved in. Then it transitioned to the front of my house, and trash never took it,” Briglia said. “Today was the perfect day. I was like, let’s take it out for a spin.” 

Briglia explained how the bumper functions as a sled, saying it doesn’t generate the typical speed of a regular sled.

“[My friend] sits in the front, and then it’s like a bobsled. I push him, and then I dive in,” Briglia said. “It’s terrible. We haven’t had a good run yet.” 

Briglia then saw a fellow bumper-sledder, exclaiming, “No way! Another bumper!”

Matthew Lu, a junior computer science major, carried a makeshift human-size rectangular piece of cardboard, which he said would help him “send it down that hill right there.”

“I have 100% faith in this piece of cardboard. I’ve never had a doubt,” Lu said. “When I crafted this thing this morning, I just knew that I could send it down any hill that I wanted to. I definitely put 100% of my effort and all of my love into this piece of cardboard.”

Zac Lindquist, a senior neuroscience major, used a tote container cover to “slide down” Pier Street. 

“It’s nostalgic. I’m from Western New York, where [we] get a lot of snow, so it’s almost like when I was a kid,” Lindquist said. 

Lily Rasnake, a sophomore architecture major, went sledding and played football with her friends. 

“We figured out that trash bags are the best thing to sled in,” Rasnake said. “We poke a hole in the top for your head, and then you just go down, and it’s perfect.”

Madeline Soule, a sophomore public health major and Samantha McAtee, a sophomore, environmental science major, said they were attempting to sled down Bates Street and Joncaire Street using a cardboard box for pillows. 

“We tried trash bags, and that wasn’t working,” Soule said. “Someone else used a street sign. and that actually worked pretty well. I don’t know if it was on the ground or if they ripped it off, but it was working pretty well.”

Other students engaged in competition. Logan McIntyre, a sophomore public health major, and Ike Kelman, a sophomore architecture major, faced off against each other while they played football in the snow at Zulema Parklet.

“Both of us are wide receivers and also defense,” McIntyre said. “Right now, the game is tied at 5-5 so we’ve got a good, tight game going.”

For McIntyre, football in the snow brings him back to his childhood. Kelman compared his experience with snow at home to his experience at Pitt.

“Here, Pitt’s a whole community,” Kelman said. “Everyone’s our age, everyone’s playing outside.” 

Because of the winter storm and extreme cold warning, the University announced via ENS alert Sunday evening that there would be no in-person classes on Monday. Only essential personnel are required to report to campus.