Rick Gunn/Nevada Appeal Terrie Juchtzer, left, and Travis Derby, 7, hang on to the bitter end before flipping over while sledding Tuesday afternoon on the snow-covered hills in west Carson City.
Carson High School students snowboarding on a Curry Street hill said they were glad schools closed for the day, but didn't understand why Tuesday and not last Friday.
"I thought it was stupid they gave us the day off and it didn't even snow at all," said Izzy McGoff, a 17-year-old senior, who drives himself to school and is familiar with the road conditions. "Friday was the day it was snowing."
McGoff and Phillip Remington, a 15-year-old sophomore, had been snowboarding and making snowballs for a couple hours on the hill near S&W Feed.
Higher up, several other teenagers worked their snowboards down the hill, some to a small jump they had built. Matthew Coil, a 16-year-old junior, came barreling down.
"This is nothing compared to the other days when we got a lot of snow," he said. "I'm glad I had today off. I wish we could have more days off."
According to Mike Mitchell, director of operations for the Carson City School District, a transportation worker took a bus out at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning and found the conditions hazardous, even with chains.
"What really happened was (Monday) night, it got much colder than it had during the previous nights," he said. "It froze up all this snow that had been on the side streets and on the ruts, which our buses were not able to negotiate."
Mitchell said the city spent Tuesday plowing some of the more treacherous roads so the school district could be back in business today.
Students who missed school Friday or Monday because of parental concerns about driving or walking in the snow will have excused absences.
"We recognize those things as causing a higher level of concern, yet we can't let that drive our decision," he said.
About 80 percent of students attended school on Friday and even more Monday. Suzanne Efford exercised her rights by picking up her nephew and niece from Seeliger Elementary School on Friday after she was let off early from her state job.
"I thought it was kind of strange to close schools today when they had more snow all the other days," she said.
Before she even knew schools had closed for Tuesday, she had decided her niece and nephew weren't going if snow fell overnight.
"I need a break," she said.
In Kings Canyon on Waterford Place Tuesday, 19-year-old Ryan Williams and friend Dave Saucedo built a jump out of a snow pile pushed into the yard.
"We were getting pretty high, too, about 6 to10 feet," said Williams, describing how he gathered momentum as Saucedo pulled him down the street on skis by a rope off the back of Saucedo's vehicle. Carson City Sheriff's Department deputies told them to stop because it was dangerous.
A neighbor was concerned slick roads could have prevented the vehicle from stopping, injuring the teens or others outside of it.
Williams, on break from Truckee Meadows Community College, said he would stop, but planned to remain outside and enjoy the snow.
"I go to Mount Rose, Mammoth and Kirkwood to ski," he said. "Mammoth is the best, but it doesn't even matter with all this snow. Tahoe's just as good as any right now."
Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.
