For as long as she can remember, junior Maya Pytel has loved to sled. As a young child, her passion for the activity started by being bundled up on the same sled as her older brother while their parents dragged them to school through the snow. Years later, she spends as many opportunities as possible each winter racing down the hills along the Midway Plaisance with friends.
While the frigid weather means staying inside for some students, snowfall creates more opportunities for thrill, fun and friendship for those passionate about sledding.
Having enjoyed sledding for so long, the activity has become somewhat sentimental to Maya. Her favorite memory, she said, was when her and a friend accidentally slid under an unsecured fence while going down a steep hill.
“It was a lot of fun, and it’s memorable moments like that, they’re very heartwarming to look back on,” Maya said.
Senior Tomasz Witkowski has also enjoyed sledding since he was in lower school, when he would go to a hill in his neighborhood with his older sister and a couple of friends. Despite losing interest in the activity for a while, Tomasz has picked it back up after a friend suggested they sled down a hill in Soldier Field. He now looks forward to sledding each winter.
“We go whenever there’s snow,” Tomasz said. “So far this year we haven’t been, but we hope to go as much as possible if there’s snow.”
One of the reasons Tomasz likes sledding in particular is that unlike many winter sports, it is easy to do whenever there is snow. He also enjoys the quality time he spends sledding with friends.
“I do it just to be around my friends and the snow,” Tomasz said. “It’s easier to go to a little hill than a skiing resort and go skiing. And my favorite part of it is just laughing with my friends when we fall. We push each other and do snowball fights. It’s all fun.”
When he and his friends tried to create a hill to sled over on Soldier Field, Tomasz found that sledding can also allow him to form connections with total strangers.
“It was cool because other people joined in on helping us make the little mound to go over, and then everyone went over the hill and got airborne,” Tomasz said.
Like Tomasz, Maya appreciates the chaotic moments that often occur while sledding, especially while with friends.
“I think the best part of sledding is it forms a connection between you and the people you’re doing it with,” Maya said.
With years of experience sledding, Maya has come to enjoy many aspects of the activity, especially the bond formed between her and those she sleds with.
“I think that the most important part of my memories of sledding is the people,” Maya said. “Sledding is a very joyful activity, and so I’ve always loved doing it.”
