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.<\/p>\n
As of Sunday at 5 p.m., Pittsburgh has received 10.2 inches of snowfall<\/a> as part of a powerful winter storm hitting across the country.<\/a> Many students took advantage of the snow, leaving their schoolwork behind to sled down snowy streets.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery single street that we passed on the way, there was somebody sledding,\u201d Hetrick said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful day. The vibes are immaculate.\u201d<\/p>\n Konstanty said he has been skiing his whole life, and the streets of Oakland are \u201ca little rockier\u201d than traditional ski slopes with \u201cunexpected terrain here and there.\u201d Still, Konstanty said, getting outside is more enjoyable than doing schoolwork.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just saw the beautiful eight inches of snow out here and said, \u2018We might as well seize the day.\u2019 We don\u2019t want to pay for a [ski] lift ticket if we don\u2019t need to,\u201d Konstanty said. \u201cThere\u2019s a big community feel. I feel like this brings students together, and so I\u2019m glad to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just snowboarding down the boulevard,\u201d Antonucci said. \u201cWe were also trying to build a jump in Zulema and snowboard down that, but it wasn\u2019t that steep, so we came over here.\u201d<\/p>\n Antonucci said they were also throwing snowballs, wrestling and \u201cacting like kids\u201d with their neighbors.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s out on the street, just hanging out,\u201d Antonucci said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like our own street party in the snow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Degaetano described their activities on Welsford as \u201cimprovised.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want to sled at some point, but it\u2019s also like, I don\u2019t want to walk to go to Schenley or anything,\u201d Degaetano said. \u201cWe\u2019re making the best of what we can like with what we have here.\u201d<\/p>\n Improvisation was a common theme on students\u2019 snow day. Alex Briglia, a junior mechanical engineering major, used a car bumper to sled down Joncaire Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis bumper was in my backyard when I moved in. Then it transitioned to the front of my house, and trash never took it,\u201d Briglia said. \u201cToday was the perfect day. I was like, let\u2019s take it out for a spin.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Briglia explained how the bumper functions as a sled, saying it doesn\u2019t generate the typical speed of a regular sled.<\/p>\n \u201c[My friend] sits in the front, and then it\u2019s like a bobsled. I push him, and then I dive in,\u201d Briglia said. \u201cIt\u2019s terrible. We haven\u2019t had a good run yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Briglia then saw a fellow bumper-sledder, exclaiming, \u201cNo way! Another bumper!\u201d<\/p>\n Matthew Lu, a junior computer science major, carried a makeshift human-size rectangular piece of cardboard, which he said would help him \u201csend it down that hill right there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have 100% faith in this piece of cardboard. I\u2019ve never had a doubt,\u201d Lu said. \u201cWhen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Zac Lindquist, a senior neuroscience major, used a tote container cover to \u201cslide down\u201d Pier Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nostalgic. I\u2019m from Western New York, where [we] get a lot of snow, so it\u2019s almost like when I was a kid,\u201d Lindquist said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lily Rasnake, a sophomore architecture major, went sledding and played football with her friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe figured out that trash bags are the best thing to sled in,\u201d Rasnake said. \u201cWe poke a hole in the top for your head, and then you just go down, and it\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe tried trash bags, and that wasn\u2019t working,\u201d Soule said. \u201cSomeone else used a street sign. and that actually worked pretty well. I don\u2019t know if it was on the ground or if they ripped it off, but it was working pretty well.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth of us are wide receivers and also defense,\u201d McIntyre said. \u201cRight now, the game is tied at 5-5 so we\u2019ve got a good, tight game going.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHere, Pitt\u2019s a whole community,\u201d Kelman said. \u201cEveryone\u2019s our age, everyone\u2019s playing outside.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n