Making the best of a snowy situation

It has been said that Syracuse feels the snow in its bones.

Well, if that's the case, this winter -- which in my opinion has felt extra cold, extra snowy, and extra long -- might prove why snow and ice are part of our collective CNY DNA.

Photo: Katrine Dermody

Draft horses, Pat and Pearl, pull sledders up the hill once they have sled down it.

And perhaps it's this biological condition, this genetic disposition which gives Central New Yorkers that admirable and insane winter fortitude -- something we all rightfully take great pride in, by the way.

I mean, Syracuse has won the Golden Snowball Award nine out of the last 10 years. 

And we all know that one off-year was a fluke.

Beyond this oddly-competitive contest which is based on which upstate New York city receives the most snow in a snow season -- a pastime which, let's be honest, would only be interesting to those of us who live in regions defined by oppressive winter eight out of the 12 months of the year -- Central New Yorkers find winter solace in a variety of snow-centric activities.

Skiing. Snowboarding. Snowshoeing. Cross-country skiing. Ice skating. Hockey. Snowfort building. Snowball fighting. Snowman making. Snowmobiling. Ice fishing. Drinking.

The list goes on. 

But perhaps the most notable winter activities are the ones which put a fun twist on a classic. Like, how about the Empire State Snowshoe Championships? There is nothing better than adding a little competitive spirit to an event which already features people running/trudging through waist-deep snow on modernized tennis rackets, right? Or what about the Chilly Chili 5K race in Cazenovia, NY? For 10 years now it has featured hundreds of people running 3.1 miles on frozen village streets and then attending a chili cook-off. 

This year, I discovered a new winter pastime, and it might just be my favorite one: Farm sledding.

Now, I know what many of you are thinking. Farm sledding sounds like something you might see on some reality TV show set in the backwoods -- and maybe that's true. But hear me out, because farm sledding is not only fun and oddly luxurious, but it also takes teamwork and inspires youthful excitement at a time when most of us have been inevitably transformed into hermits or winter curmudgeons.

The premise is simple: you've got a ton of snowy, open space, a tractor to help you forge that first sledding track, a bon fire to keep you warm, and two strong, majestic draft horses, Pat and Pearl, who can pull you back up the hill once you've sled down it. 

This is what sledding is like at Greyrock Farm.

At a time of year when we most need it, sledding at Greyrock gives us a reason to get some fresh air and it reminds us of why winter in CNY can be great by combining the best of what this long, snowy season has to offer: friends, farms, snow, sleds....and horses.