Extreme fun: Hitting the slopes at Washington Park

Winter is not over yet. On Thursday, February 24, four inches of the white stuff fell over Charlottesville and much of Central Virginia, closing schools and blanketing the Old Dominion in white. No sooner had that disappeared under 50-degree weekend temps, than another load descended on Monday, February 28.

For some, the frosty precip meant slower traffic, cancellations, and unwelcome return of colder temperatures. However, the showers yielded some of the finest sledding snow to fall all year, which meant that our local green spaces turned into winter playgrounds.

If you've weathered a winter in Charlottesville, you know that Washington Park on Preston Avenue has some of the most exhilarating sledding in the city. Last Thursday, as the snowflakes fell, kids big and small gathered at the park, sleds in tow, to tackle the enormous hill next to the dog park.

That hill is not for the faint of heart, nor for the lazy. After a long climb to the top, the only way down is fast– super fast! Folks content to leave the sledding to the more adventuresome took advantage of the powder's packability to build snowmen and throw snowballs. There was something for everyone!

Zooooooom: Allie Cromwell flies by at lightning speed.

Tricia Hammond and her daughter Marissa attempt the very difficult '360 sled spin'

Cold noses, warm smiles: Christina Lockhart, Mary Emerson, and Sharon Wood spend their day off with Poodgie Lackhart (center).

A long way down: The scene from the top at Washington Park

Snow days rock

Little Ciara Sprouse and her father, DJ, have the honor of building the park's first snowman of the day.

Taking one for the team (see back of sled)

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