ATHABASCA - For as long as there has been snow, high hills and gravity, downhill sledding has proven to be a wholesome and accessible good time for thrill-seekers of all ages.
Athabasca’s new Rotary Toboggan Hill officially opened to the public for the first time late last week, and if early reviews are any indication, the winter of 2020-2021 is going to be a wild ride.
The Gorski and the Duplessis families were the first to hit the hill, located just north of town at the right hand turn-off before the bridge, on Saturday morning and had already been up and down a dozen times or more before noon.
“It’s a great idea,” said Grayson Duplessis, who was supervising atop the hill as his two kids Molly and Addie raced up and down, along with the Gorski kids, Alana and Brenden, who were there with mom Cheryl their friend Karly Astasiewicz.
“And it’s so beautiful today, why not?” said Cheryl
“It’s a nice, perfect little spot,” said Duplessis. “It worked out really good, we came for an hour and we’ll stay for two.”
The sun was beating down that day, and with temperatures hovering above zero for most of the weekend, the hill was extra slick, which means extra fun, and the adults even got in on the action.
The kids gave it rave reviews, with ratings of nine or 10, out of 10 — especially the jumps. They agreed more snow would also be helpful though.
It’s just the beginning, as far as local Rotarians are concerned. Rotarian Maurice Gushta pitched the idea to town council Oct. 20, and now, about six weeks later, it has become a reality. He noted the location is ideal as it provides accessible and varied slopes suitable for younger and older kids; reasonable walk-up distances; safe run-off areas; a parking area and it’s expandable, which means other amenities could be added in the future.
"I believe that (area) more than meets all of our selection criteria,” Gushta told town council. "In the long-term, it could really develop into some sort of excellent winter resort. The Riverfront Park is just always buzzing with kids and we don't have anything for the kids in the wintertime and it'd be nice if we could do that.”
