Tag Archives: snow

Wesleyan Skiing and Snowboarding Teams Take the Slopes

Pictured: Dylan Penn '15. Photo via The Wesleyan Connection.

Pictured: Dylan Penn ’15. Photo via The Wesleyan Connection.

Did you know that Wesleyan had Skiing and Snowboarding teams? Did you know that they are just as awesome as they sound?

On February 16 and 17, the club teams participated in the McBrine Division League Championships up in Vermont. The Women’s Ski Team qualified for USCSA Eastern Regionals after coming in fourth overall, and the men took first place qualifying for Regionals. Michael Creager ’15 and Chris Delaney ’14 came in second and third in the entire Men’s Ski Division.

Not to be outdone, the Wesleyan Snowboarding Team also vanquished the competition. Dylan Penn ’15Atticus Swartwood ’14, Lina Mamut ’13, and Zach Kaufman ’16 qualified for nationals. This is the snowboarding team’s first year as a club, and Mamut commented, “I’m stoked that Wes got the opportunity to compete in a snowboard league. As a senior, after years of just watching skiers go at it, it’s been incredibly fun to be able to compete with snowboarders from other schools in Slalom and Giant Slalom.”

Breaking (Kind of): Another Storm May Be Approaching Sorta Perhaps

No, this one isn’t named Dory.

funny-snowman-snowpy-funny-pictures

For those of you who don’t follow our really awesome Facebook page or Twitter feed (Zach, see what I did there?), I’m gonna hit you with some knowledge: there may be another snowstorm hitting our beloved campus this coming weekend.

You heard me right: More snow. Allegedly. More snowboarding. Perhaps. More tripping and falling on ice. Supposedly. More cancelled classes (at the last second, of course). Apparently. More clusterfucked Usdan. Maybe.

What you need to know about this “storm”:

Because You’re Not Yet Tired of Campus Snow Photos That All Look Largely Indistinguishable From Each Other

Here’s yet another batch, courtesy of an album by the Wesleyan University Facebook page. All photos by Dat Vu ’15, Shauna Pratt ’13, and a few others who are individually credited in the Facebook captions if you feel like checking. As one Old Fogie ’82 noted in the comments section, “Great photos…..in our day this would have been an invitation to grab trays from MoCon to ‘sled’ down Foss Hill.”

lol, “sledding”? Who needs to go “sledding” when we have “Tumblrpads” and “Smart Phones”!??

Quick, Before It Melts: Snow Day To-Do List

OH HAY SNOW DAY!

As we all celebrate today’s snow day resulting in no class and more time for homework a three day weekend, we must ask ourselves: What will we do during day four of winter madness? Although the idea of leaving the warmth of inside seems unlikely for some, I know many of us on campus use this as an excuse to partaay. For those of you who actually did work this weekend are ready to take full advantage of SnowMonday, here are some ideas of what you can do.

1. WATCH FINDING NEMO
Because Nemo found us! My hopes are that Disney-named storms continue to be a thing so that one day I can title a post “Pooh continues to dump over Wesleyan’s campus.”

2. DRINK ABSURD AMOUNTS OF HOT CHOCOLATE
Cause why not?

3. THROW SNOWBALLS AT STRANGERS
As long as you’re ready with what may follow, I can’t see a problem with this, especially if it leads to #10.

Classes Won’t Meet This Afternoon, Either

Rejoice! You called it, lesanjuan. Bill Holder has the full announcement:

Wesleyan is closed Monday, and classes will not be held this afternoon. Parking on campus remains limited, and a number of buildings are not yet accessible. Only essential personnel should report to work today. We are hopeful that classes will be held tomorrow, but that depends on how much snow removal gets done today. Our crews are working tirelessly, and we are very grateful for their dedication and good work. We will provide an update this evening around 6 pm.

Heavy equipment is in use, so students should continue to exercise considerable caution outdoors. Call Public Safety for help with storm-related matters, (860) 685-2345. For emergencies, call (860) 685-3333.

According to President Roths latest blog post, “I am hopeful that enough classroom buildings will be fully accessible so that we can get underway tomorrow (Tuesday). We will make another announcement at around 6 pm this evening.” Mayor Drew’s plan is to have the roads be passable by midnight just keep on plowing until he can’t plow anymore, so stay tuned.

As an aside, this Snow Day is an excellent opportunity to set to work on your Michael Roth Snow Sculpture Contest submission.

Classes Cancelled Tomorrow Morning (and Maybe Afternoon, Too?) Because Blizzard

In semi-related news, Espwesso remains closed tonight.

As Nemo the Hyperblizzard progresses into its extended third act on campus, the administration has opted to cancel all classes tomorrow morning, and this time it’s for real. Straight from the Holder’s (that’s Bill Holder’s) mouth:

Classes will not be held Monday morning, and we will assess campus conditions in the morning to determine whether to resume classes at noon. Administrative staff should not come to work on Monday, except for essential personnel. We will provide an update to the campus community at about 9 a.m.

Hard working ground crews have made substantial progress today – and they deserve our thanks – but more remains to be done to ensure that sidewalks are clear and buildings are accessible. Students should continue to exercise considerable caution outdoors and call Public Safety for help with storm-related matters, (860) 685-2345. For emergencies, call (860) 685-3333.

Considering Middletown remains a surreal maze of waist-high snow drifts and Governor Malloy just asked all nonessential employees to stay home Monday, this move comes as little surprise. But couldn’t they have just made the call for the whole day at once?

Acts of Heroism in a Snowpocalypse

The view from Senior Fauver, as photographed by Tuna yesterday afternoon.

The view from Senior Fauver, as photographed by Tuna yesterday afternoon.

This morning we received in our tipbox an account, from an anonymous reader, of a rather heroic rescue that took place late last night, during blizzard conditions:

Last night, a bunch of my friends and I saw a figure muddling through the blizzard. He collapsed in the snow, and did not get up. Julia Holewinski ’15, wearing just a sweater, immediately ran outside and hauled the man inside with some difficulty. He was clearly extremely intoxicated, and his eyelashes were frozen solid. We think his name is [removed] (class of ’14). If Julia hadn’t had the presence of mind and physical strength to drag him inside, he probably would have died in a snowdrift.

Besides applauding Holewinski for her courageous rescue, this seems like an opportune time to remind you that if you feel the need to get wasted during blizzard conditions (which is all fine and good), drink responsibly and don’t go wading through snow alone at night. If you spot an obviously smashed friend attempting to stumble home alone through snow drifts and heavy winds, walk with them or offer them your couch. Sorry to get all mom on you all of a sudden.

Speaking of snow rescues, pyrotechnics post this morning noted that some students (especially in Lo-Rise) are quite literally unable to open their front doors because of the Alaskan-style snow drifts.

Photos: Signs of Life In A Post-Snowpocalyptic Wesleyan

In this new, post-Snowpocalyptic world, man must battle machine for dominance. 

butterfields 1

When I shoved open the door to Butterfields B this morning, dressed in layers for all levels of chilly tempest (protip: Under Armor, then shirt, then hoodie, then coat), the only path to get out of the labyrinth was manmade — boot imprints probably left over from last night’s late-night partygoers.  That was approximately 10 a.m.  By the time I returned half an hour later, the CATs had carved out a path to the doors of my building but were still working on A and C.  At least the wind wasn’t as awful as it got last night.  No amount of Wesleyan hoodie will protect your face from snow that does not simply blow in one direction, but whips around and aims specifically at faces— like predator drones.

Despite the scary ubiquity of the snow, I was not the only person attempting to cross this hellscape.  Also attempting to leave were a group of sophomores from Butt A — one of whom was not actually wearing shoes.  I walked with the group through the semi-plowed paths and crossed Lawn Avenue, which, at the time, had seen exactly 0 clearing action.  These are streets, that cars are ostensibly supposed to be able to drive on— well, not at the moment.  The snow was about four feet high, and completely covered from High Street up.  So we waded across.

Going to Church Street, which was completely driveable, we all had to avoid the CAT clearing the student paths.  Don’t think about using stairs any time soon — they’re all submerged.  The way to Usdan was pretty easy from there out, as the plows had pretty much made a neat-enough path along College Row.  What’s amazing is seeing how Allbritton, PAC, and South College are impossible to get through, because the snow is just drowning them.  I was a little worried that some of these glass doors would break under the pressure.

More of my adventures, and two entire galleries of photographs, after the jump.

Introducing: Wesleying’s First Annual Michael Roth Snow Sculpture Contest

Photoshop magic by Matt Adelman ’13, my personal Photoshop assistant since 2007.

Attention, Wellesleyan. On the off chance you haven’t noticed, there’s approximately a mega-shit-ton of snow on the ground right now, and you’re frantically trying to figure out what to do with it. Go skiing on Foss? Turn Usdan WesWings trays into sleds? Stay in your room and Instagram luscious storm porn?

As Nemo the Blizzard keeps on trucking, we’ve got a solution. We’re formally inviting all students to build snow sculptures of Michael Roth ’78 on Andrus Field and send us photo evidence at staff(at)wesleying(dot)org. Please put “Roth à la Neige” in the subject line of your submission and include a few images of your magnum opus. We’ll reward the student or team of students who makes the best snow sculpture of Roth with a $25 gift certificate to La Boca, a personalized letter of congratulations typed on my personal Olympia Werke Ag. Wilhelmshaven typewriter (yes, really), and a public commendation on this here blog. The second-place winner will be personally serenaded by esteemed storyteller Brendan O’Donnell ’14 in the (on-campus) location of your choosing. This is not a joke. 

Lastly, full disclosure that I shamelessly stole this idea from the Government and American Studies departments at Skidmore, where my brother goes to school. I simply substituted Abraham Lincoln for Michael Roth, because they are in most cases interchangeable.

Happy sculpting!

The Morning After: Holy Crap, Where Did Everything Go?

Drifts!

Welcome to the world of winter. If you can get out your door right now, congratulations, because some WesKids are quite literally snowed in. The snow drifts in Lo-Rise are over six feet high. The cars in the Hi-Rise Lot are buried. The snow is goddamned everywhere.

Click below the jump for some photos and additional commentary. More photos of other places (because I’m not leaving the Rises for a while) will be posted here as people wake up. Happy digging!