Cornelliana ‘A Magical, Quintessential Cornell Experience’: Your Winter Memories Stories You May Like Brrr! Test Your Knowledge of East Hill’s Winter Readiness The Stark Winter Beauty of East Hill’s Garden Spots Warm Up a Chilly Day with Big Red Winter Trivia! Alumni recall sudden blizzards, cross-country skiing to campus, bundling up, trudging up the slippery Slope, and much more By Beth Saulnier Photography by Alexandra Bayer, Sreang Hok, Jason Koski & Ryan Young Bundling up against the cold. Trekking up a snow-covered Libe Slope—and sometimes, slipping and sliding right back down again. Cross-country skiing on and around campus. Struggling to stay toasty in an era when—amazing to modern sensibilities—women students weren’t allowed to wear pants. These and much more comprise alumni’s fondest (or at least most memorable) recollections of winter on East Hill. With much of the U.S. in the grip of the chilly season, Cornellians and Alumni Affairs asked you to share your winter memories—and the topic clearly resonated. Snowman-building never goes out of style. “I remember hiking up Libe Slope with my friend Dawn Wang ’91 after a particularly cold day,” says Arts & Sciences alum Rebecca Scott ’91. “The wind whipped up; we clutched our hats, but the path became so icy that we were pretty much clawing the ground to reach the top.” Anyone who has spent a winter in Ithaca knows what came next: unable to hold her hat on her head, it was whipped up by a wind gust, and the two watched it tumble down the Slope. “I started after it, but Dawn took my arm and said, ‘Just let it go!’—as if we were in a movie, fighting for our lives,” Scott recalls. “We realized how ridiculous the moment was and started laughing, which did not make it easier to climb.” Read on for more memories of Big Red winters stretching back generations—though many will resonate for alums of any era!—accompanied by images of the current snowy season on the Hill. (Submissions have been edited and condensed.) And be sure to leave your own remembrances in the comments! “I was babysitting for a family outside Ithaca and got stuck in the snow one afternoon in January 1972. A neighbor helped get me unstuck. He turned out to be President Corson! He signed my diploma four months later.” — Miriam Stern Sharick ’72 “My favorite memory involves trudging up a very snowy Libe Slope to get to an 8 a.m. freshman class. Broke and miserable, I slipped on ice and face-planted in the snow. The good part? Under my left hand, deep in the snow, was a $20 bill! I ate for a week.” — John Harper ’87, BA ’88 “In January 1977, Ithaca experienced a blizzard. My husband, Willard Hunt, MS ’73, and I were living on Linden Avenue. One evening, we put on our skis and headed for campus. The streets were empty and mostly unplowed. The snow was as deep as the stone walls. Only the street lights were on. We looked at the light shimmering on the snow. The only sound was our skis. It was surreal. Looking out toward Cayuga Lake, the peacefulness of this place is something I knew I would never forget.” — Linda Elliott Hunt, MBA ’79 I learned how to walk in snow and ice without falling. Walk heavily, not gingerly. Turns out to be more important than classwork. Betty Schultz Goldberg ’61 “In the early 1960s, women had to wear skirts to class. I remember my lower thighs and knees always being so cold. There were no tights then; you wore knee socks under your calf-high boots and an undergarment that covered the thigh area, but the knee area was not covered. Walking from Balch over the bridge, then up all the stairs to the Home Economics area, was brutal in early morning.” — Jan DiMartino Foreman ’65 “For a few years, Ithaca held an annual Slush Festival in February, featuring a parade that included a representative group of rusty cars. It gave us beleaguered Ithacans a chance to see (or invent) the humor in our situation. Somehow we made it through the long, cold months, and by the end of April the temperature would finally rise to 40 or so. In the second week of May, the trees bloomed and spring really arrived. And it was glorious.” — Margaret Nichols, PhD ’83 After one winter storm, I remember breaking out the cross-country skis and people flying down a snow-covered Buffalo Street on all manner of carriage. Michael Richter ’81, BS ’83, MEng ’89 “The University canceled finals for a day in the snowstorm of late January 1966. It was a gorgeous day when the snow stopped falling, and seemingly everyone went out to play. My sorority built a snow fort with the fraternity next door and gathered indoors for hot chocolate. My mom always said it sounded like my happiest day at Cornell. Maybe she was right.” — Alice Katz Berglas ’66 “The half snow day for Valentine’s Day 2007 was great—other than the fact that I’d already had all four classes when operations were suspended at 12:20 p.m. But it did allow for great sledding. The Tompkins County sheriff closed all the roads; my dining hall staffers on West were put up in the Statler and said they had a great time.” — Meli Mathis-Clark ’09 Winter survival in the ’70s called for a coat from the Army surplus store and ‘waffle stompers’—lace-up boots with an incredible rubber-tread sole. High fashion. Kathryn Gabinet-Kroo ’75 “One late-winter day my junior or senior year, I was standing outside the Straight talking to a couple of friends. The subject of falling on slippery surfaces came up, and I bragged that I had gone through the whole winter without falling down once—unlike my freshman and sophomore years, which included multiple falls. No sooner had I completed my bragging than an unknown force took my feet out from under me and deposited me on my derriere. The Bible says, ‘Pride goeth before a fall.’ I am living proof!” — Dave Bridgeman ’65 “Winter finals junior year, the temperature was probably 10° and it was snowing. I was living in Collegetown and had an exam on the Ag Quad. It was a very long walk. I had a beard and mustache; when I arrived at the exam, they were hanging with icicles. There was a scene in Doctor Zhivago in which he walks in after a similar hike in the cold. I felt like I looked a lot like him.” — Stephen Goldberger ’69 “I left my car parked at Hasbrouck Apartments and went home to Europe for Christmas break. After two weeks away, it was a complete ice block, only found based on its position. Digging it out was challenging—not to mention starting it!” — Joaquin Barallat, MS ’86 “One day, walking from Malott to the Engineering Quad past the A.D. White House, I heard a ‘snap’ and saw a tree branch fall from about 40 feet up, with a squirrel desperately hanging on. The two hit the ground with a resounding thud. The squirrel shook himself and staggered off.” — Dave Bowen ’76 , MBA ’77 “In January 1968, I walked to and from a final on the Arts Quad from my room in Donlon. At that time, I always wore a short skirt with boots that came to my knees. It was -25°. By the time I got back to the dorm, my legs were beet red from the bottom of my skirt to the top of my boots. That experience changed my entire perception of fashion, and slacks became an important part of my wardrobe. It wasn’t long before I switched to jeans. It mirrored the rapid change in the world from fall 1967 to spring 1971.” — Carolyn Lockard McMaster ’71, MBA ’73 "When I was living on West Campus, I would cross-country ski on Libe Slope whenever it snowed. Back then, not very many at Cornell must have seen wooden skinny skis and three-pin toe clip bindings, because I got the strangest looks from people negotiating the Slope." — Daniel Youngtae Cheung '79 “In the 1950s, ‘co-eds’ didn’t wear pants to classes; we wore skirts. There were many days when I walked from Clara Dickson to my sorority on Wycoff Avenue to Goldwin Smith dressed in my camel-hair coat, red-and-white Cornell scarf, and zip-up boots, with bare legs—and nearly froze.” Stories You May Like Brrr! Test Your Knowledge of East Hill’s Winter Readiness The Stark Winter Beauty of East Hill’s Garden Spots — Judy Singer Bercuvitz ’60 I recall (very) chilly nights walking back to Collegetown after working at the Statler—it's why I live in Florida now! Jack Keefe ’60 “On a sunny, 15° winter day, with the ground covered in a foot of snow, I made it to Connecticut Hill on my skis. My body wishing to bathe in the sunshine and no one else on the trail, I decided to take off all clothing, except my socks and boots. The 10 or 20 minutes of glorious sunshine was wonderful; after I put everything back on, several other skiers appeared. They’d missed the show—one that, with high-powered binoculars, possibly could have been seen from campus.” — Dennis Winters, MLA ’84 “During the Blizzard of ’93, Cornell closed the campus as midterms were in full swing. The county closed the roads and visitors were stranded. I remember students using items such as mattresses and cardboard boxes to ride down Buffalo Street—crazy times! I even went skiing down Libe Slope, along with hundreds of students using cafeteria trays.” — Robert Maryott, MBA ’94 “My first encounter with the Ithaca winter was memorable, if not exactly fun. I had gone to an early morning biology class and lab on a mild fall day, and didn’t emerge until afternoon, when I found a foot or more of snow on the ground. I lived on West Campus and had no winter footwear. While some paths down Libe Slope had been cleared a bit, I didn’t risk them; I felt safer on the snow-covered grass. I got a ride to Collegetown that afternoon to buy a pair of desert boots, which served me well that winter.” — Kathy Coleman Weinberg ’74, JD ’77 “I didn’t have a car, so I took the Greyhound bus back and forth from Ithaca (via Binghamton and Scranton) to suburban Philadelphia. One year, there was a huge snowstorm on the day I was scheduled to head home for Christmas. I had been looking forward to seeing my family and worried I wasn’t going to make it. The fully loaded bus headed out, though, and plowed through deep snow to arrive practically on schedule. I was never so glad to be car-less (and car-free!).” — Anne West ’89 I was there on February 2, 1961: 25 below zero, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Ithaca. It was scary. I think back on that and never complain when the temperature drops to single digits. Len Libenson ’63, BCE ’64 “I have a vivid memory of a blizzard that hit Ithaca the afternoon before the final exam for Commercial Law. My studymate and I had spent several days reviewing intensely, and I swore I’d walk from our apartment at Gaslight Village if the roads were not cleared. I think I even put chains on our Pinto station wagon to avoid having to review those notes, cases, and statutes all over again.” — Alan Young, JD ’78 “The winter of 2002–03 was wild, with swings between 20° and 60°. I remember going into an afternoon art history lecture in Goldwin Smith when it was sunny and in the high 50s—and by the time it ended, the temperature had dropped into the low 30s and it was full blizzard. I had on jeans, a sweater, and a cute pair of heeled boots. Getting back down the Slope, I fell at least five times. By the time I got to the door of Lyon, I was covered in snow and sore all over. I went inside, took a hot shower, put on winter clothes and my actual boots, and headed back up for an evening class.” — Katie McMillan ’04 “Winter break 1978. Staying at a friend’s apartment near North Campus, working in a lab. Rented cross-country skis on Friday; woke up Saturday to the Blizzard of ’78. Skied out the second-story window. Not a track or sign of life on the whole campus.” — Dave Gross ’80 “My freshman year, I’d ‘borrow’ a tray from the Straight cafeteria and slide quite quickly down the snowy Libe Slope. The best thing was seeing two fellow freshmen, in short pants and T-shirts, standing up on their trays and riding them down the hill. Both admitted to being California surfer dudes.” — Don Danila ’69 “My sophomore year, I made the terrible decision to live in an apartment near the airport, with only my bicycle for transportation. At one point that winter, there was four feet of snow on the ground. I remember trying to walk the four miles to class, giving up after a mile, then walking the four miles to a party later that night. Priorities!” — Victor Carfi ’80 It was the winter of my freshman year. I had showered and climbed up Libe Slope to have breakfast in the Ivy Room. As I sat eating, I noticed water running down my forehead: my hair had frozen on the walk and was melting! Richard Gibson ’68 “I attended when women were not allowed to wear ‘trousers’ on campus proper. I lived at Pi Phi and took one particular class on the Ag campus, about a mile and a half from the house. We wore heavy wool skirts with wool knee socks. I can remember rushing into the lecture hall, sitting down, and hearing the skin on my knees cracking and splitting. Gross! Followed by the pins and needles of the thaw—double gross! I am delighted that things have changed.” — Margaret Willers ’67, MBA ’71 “The first snowstorm of my junior year began one evening in late October 1969. It was one of my roommates’ birthdays, so we were having a small party at our house on Snyder Hill Road. Around 10 p.m., we all jumped in our cars, drove to campus, and played touch football on the deserted, snow-covered Arts Quad as the snowflakes fell all around us. It was a magical, quintessential Cornell experience.” — Ira Casson ’71 “On a particularly icy night, I was walking up the Slope. Being from California, I did not have proper shoes, so I had no traction. I got to a certain point and was stuck. Another student noticed my ridiculous predicament, and called out, ‘Do you need help?’ I gratefully accepted, and he pushed me up until my feet could get a grip.” — Seunghee Ha ’92 “December 1974, I was sitting in my favorite spot in Uris Library: in the stacks looking out over Libe Slope. A student slipped and fell and slid all the way—but his slide rule beat him to the bottom. This was before we had pocket calculators and when freshmen lived on West Campus. Had to be an engineering nerd with that slide rule; I have fantasized that it was Bill Nye ’77.” — Melissa Yorks ’75 “My sophomore year I was living on North Campus. A large snowstorm rolled in, causing Cornell to temporarily shut down; the streets of Ithaca were also closed to allow for snow removal. A local pizza restaurant ran a radio ad indicating that they were delivering pizzas via snowmobile, so several of us ordered a few to see if this was real. Eventually, a snowmobile came to the dorm with our (lukewarm) pizzas.” — Chuck Geber ’73 “I lived in Lyon Hall and had to trek to MVR and the Ag Quad for most of my classes. I remember one day making it about halfway up Libe Slope, losing traction, and sliding all the way back down to the bottom! I have a vague memory of a rope handrail-type system being set up one winter, and pulling myself up hand over hand with ice underfoot.” — Kirstin Ross Preuss ’92 “I learned how to ski, at least somewhat, at Greek Peak. No one wore fancy ski pants at that time. My jeans would get so wet from falling off the lift at the top or on the way down the bunny slope—my legs were numb and so pink! I went on to learn more and ski many times since, but I could never forget that first time.” — Adrienna “A.M.” McVicker Reing ’87 Published February 5, 2026 Comments Andrea Strongwater, Class of 1970 10 Feb, 2026 The snow was magical Reply Lucrezia Herman, Class of 1976 10 Feb, 2026 Freshman year (‘72), I got a ride down to NYC/LI with 3 guys from my dorm for Christmas – there was a blizzard that forced us off the road near Binghamton or Scranton, and we managed to get the last available room at a hotel for the 4 of us, though the person working the reception desk eyed me suspiciously and wasn’t keen for me to be sharing a room with 3 males. Likewise, the mother of one of the guys was exceptionally concerned that I would steal her son’s virtue… (In January ‘78, when I was Cornell staff and living on Blair Street, I got snowed-in a few days after New Year’s before any of my housemates had returned, when a snow drift blocked the house’s front door and the back door was frozen shut. A friend who returned a day later had to dig me out. And sometime during the winter of ‘81/82 the temperature went down to 4°F, and my eyeglass frames spontaneously broke in half as I was trudging to work…) Reply Dr. Richard Holstein, Class of 1967 10 Feb, 2026 I would love to see more memorabilia from the time of University Halls and trying to get up Libe Slope with an open box if computer punch cards! Weeks of work became paper slow flakes for want of Scotch tape! Reply Cynthia, Class of 1960 11 Feb, 2026 Can anyone tell me when the university decided women could wear pants. In my day it had to be 20 degrees. Cynthia Loring, ’60 Reply Ted Rauch, Class of 1961 10 Feb, 2026 Winters in the late ’50s/early 60s were brutal. However living down the Hill at 2 Forest Park Lane (Psi Upsilon) was very convenient… a short walk to Jim’s Place where we would spend many hours during snowy, cold days. Reply Helga Ochoterena, Class of 1994 10 Feb, 2026 I was delighted with the first snow fall of my life in Ithaca, shortly after I arrived from Mexico. Fortunately, I like cold weather and I even enjoy the minimum of 9 Fahrenheit of December 1994. I still have dreams with the snow, the white beautiful landscapes and the quite fall of the beautiful flakes. Reply Ed Santavicca, Class of 1973 10 Feb, 2026 I believe it was Thanksgiving break in either 1971 or 1972 and I caught a ride back to Pittsburgh with a friend grad student who had a car. (In those days I usually caught a ride using the “Ride Board” in the Straight.) When we left Ithaca it was snowing and only about 2 inches on the ground. When we got to Tyrone, PA the snow was so deep that the traffic just stopped. We left the car and went into a diner on the road in the town and sat and ate for about 3 or 4 hours. Once the traffic began moving again we got back in the car and kept going. Somehow we realized that after all that time in the diner we accidentally left without paying!! We arrived home in Pittsburgh 13 hours after leaving Ithaca (normally a 6 hour drive). We were just about home when a police car stopped us wondering why we were on the road at 3 am in a snow storm! A 17 inch snow storm that reached from Ithaca to Pittsburgh. Reply Alexandra (Sandy) Shecket Korros, Class of 1966 10 Feb, 2026 If I recall correctly, the reason women wore skirts to class was because we had to wear skirts for lunch and dinner in the women’s dorms when meal plans were mandatory for female students who had to.live in the dorms or sorority houses until senior year. On another note, one snowy, icy day my freshman year, I sat in a Uris Library reading room watching the men struggle up Libe Slope. When one student gratefully reached the top, he turned around to see his books sliding back down Libe Slope, forcing him to follow his books down the hill so he could do it all again. I laughed and cried for him at the same time. Reply William R Lang 10 Feb, 2026 One day in the 1950’s it was reported that the temperature on campus was minus thirty degrees. I couldn’t believe it ever got that cold. However we were expected to get to class. My walk was from Stewart Avenue up to the main campus. It wasn’t a problem walking up the hill but I was very impressed at how quiet it was, the only sound was the crunch of the snow under foot. One of my fond memories of my years at Cornell. Reply Rick Zelman, Class of 1971 1 Mar, 2026 January ‘68 and -20* one dark evening. One of my friends in from my freshman dorm in UH 4 decided to prove how macho he was announcing that he would swim in the pool below the Fall Creek waterfall. We all gathered with lanterns and traipsed through the snow to watch him strip and jump in. He lived and left me with a great memory. Thanks. Reply Carl Vallely, Class of 1972 1 Mar, 2026 Freshman year winter of 69 walking up Libe Slope from west campus there was a bunch of guys cafeteria tray sliding down the hill behind Uris on the steps set into the hill. Each fellow held the legs of the fellow behind him in a chain. All well and good until the last guy in the chain lost his tray and couldn’t communicate that to the fellow holding his legs. It had to be a long trip down all those steps for him Reply Laura Weis, Class of 1986 2 Mar, 2026 I don’t think any comments have yet mentioned “traying” – the art of sliding down Libe Slope on cafeteria trays! 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