By John Custodio

The SUNY Oswego Ski and Snowboard Club hosted the 2022 Rail Jam event in the SUNY Oswego Academic Quad on Feb. 18 and are glad to be back after a two-year gap despite unfavorable conditions.

Between Hewitt Hall and Lanigan Hall on campus, snow is plowed together and carved into a roughly 60-foot-long hill with rails and ski ramps partially buried in the snow. Skiers and snowboards take turns pushing off at the top of the hill about 20 feet above the ground, and perform tricks by sliding along the rails. While some participate to have some fun, club president Kyle Hansen and treasurer Joe Dolan served as judges in the trick competition, judging skiers and snowboarders with winners receiving prizes such as hats or shirts. The Student Association Volunteer Ambulance Corporation (SAVAC) had an ambulance parked close by the ramp in case of injury.

Club members were uncertain whether the event would be able to go on after temperatures around 40 degrees on Feb. 16 and 17 melted snow and turned the plowed piles into ice.

“When we got here, it was pretty frozen and chunky but we worked really hard with the shovels and chopped it up,” Dolan said. “It’s looking pretty good now.”

Hansen and Dolan said they are glad the event could go on and attribute it to the hard work of club members and help from SUNY Oswego.

Hansen said the event could only happen because of the work of the SUNY Oswego grounds and maintenance workers that used bulldozers to move the snow late into the previous night. Club member Clara Tribunella said that the bulldozers became stuck in the snow and ice mixture while moving, but the event could not have occurred without their help.

“We can’t thank the grounds crew enough honestly, they went out of their way last night and early this morning to come in and do exactly what we needed them to do to push the snow into our exact areas,” Hansen said. “And push the limits of their machinery.”

Club member Maggie Simpson said she was unable to take part in the 2020 Rail Jam, so she was eager to compete after the event was canceled in 2021 due to COVID-19 guidelines for clubs.

“I was at the last one in 2020, but I have not participated in one before so this is my first time,” Simpson said. “So I’m very excited.”

Simpson said the club had to put all of the rails in and carve the pile throughout the morning before the event and that it was tough because of the ice and wet snow and described the efforts as “a labor of love.”

For sophomore Jack Donohue, this was the first Rail Jam he had the opportunity to compete in and won a free snowboard waxing from John and John’s Bike and Skate Shop in Oswego. Donohue said it was a good opportunity to showcase the Oswego Ski and Snowboard Club to the campus. 

“It was a great event that fostered community involvement and was inclusive to all abilities,” Donohue said. 

While Rail Jam 2023 has not been officially scheduled, the SUNY Oswego Ski and Snowboard Club would like to continue the tradition for years to come.

John Custodio | The Oswegonian