The first winter sport

Remember?

You’d trudge back up until your calves and thighs begged you to stop. And then you’d force them to carry you up one more time.

Remember?

Your gloves, made of some kind of water resistant nylon, were saturated. Your toes, frozen. Your elbows shifted around in a persistent puddle of soaked fabric.

But you ignored it. Home would always be warm. And it’d always be there.

Who knew, however, when the next sledding day would come?

Remember?

And then, at some point, sledding became decidedly uncool.

It might have been about the time you discovered Gore-Tex, sharp, metal edges and technique. Or maybe it was when you discovered the opposite sex and varsity sports.

The thing is, though, sledding hasn’t changed much. And Hood River County has some of the best sledding hills around. If you’re fortunate, you have one in your backyard or down the street — and you keep it secret.

If not, you might be wondering where to go in those melting moments after a snow storm.

Fortunately I have explored Hood River County’s (and a little further) topography, in a quest for some of the best, most reliable sledding hills. To find out where to go when there’s snow, when there’s no snow and for a description of what you’ll be getting into, please turn to page A6. (Locations are rated on a 1 to 5 scale, five representing best; 1 representing worst.)