Ice blocking is a recreational activity in which individuals race to the bottom of a hill sitting on large blocks of

ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...

. In the United States ice blocking is thought to be regional, occurring in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. The only equipment needed is some large blocks of thick ice and

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

, preferably padded. Hessian sacks or old towels have been recommended to sit on. Enthusiasts have been known to make "customized" ice blocks by freezing

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similar ...

s into them to act as handles, and mixing colouring agents into the water prior to freezing. Successful ice blocking requires the outdoor temperature to be above freezing, as the ice block needs to melt in order to be slippery. Short

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

is reported to give the best experience, due to lower drag and hence higher speed. If the hill is not sufficiently steep or the grass too long, or the outdoor temperatures too cold, ice blocking will not work. If the grass is wet or becomes wet from continued ice blocking, speeds will increase significantly. Hazards include falls,

bruise A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur close ...

s, bug bites and getting wet and covered in mud. The bottom of the slope being used should be a wide area free from obstructions. In

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

the sport has been embraced by high school students, who frequent parks during late night hours in an effort to evade law enforcement officers. Ice blocking was once a very popular night time activity at

Hillcrest Park Hillcrest Park is located in the Riley Park-Little Mountain neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. It is located immediately north of Queen Elizabeth Park and west of Riley Park. Next to Hillcrest Park is the site containing Nat Baile ...

in Fullerton, California, but has subsided since its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s. Ice blocking was popular in Adelaide, Australia, because there is no snow in the state. The sport has a long-standing tradition at

Southern Nazarene University Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a private Nazarene university in Bethany, Oklahoma. History The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions. While SNU claims its founding date as ...

(

Bethany, Oklahoma Bethany is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The community was founded in 1909 by followers of the Church of the Nazarene from Oklahoma City. History Bethany was founded July 2 ...

), where the Student Government Association holds the event annually. In 2011, TLC's series ''

Sister Wives ''Sister Wives'' is an American reality television series broadcast on TLC that premiered on September 26, 2010. The show documents the life of a polygamist family, which includes Kody Brown, his wife Robyn, ex-wives (Meri, Janelle, Christ ...

'' highlighted ice blocking in the first episode of their second season. This episode showed the polygamist family spending an afternoon picnic ice blocking at a park. Excessive pressure on the grass from ice blocking can damage the grass and has resulted in the activity often being banned or restricted by park authorities and groundskeepers. There are commercially-available snow sleds that incorporate the concept of ice blocking for use during summer. The lighter and thinner ice blocks used in these sleds (as well as a larger surface area than traditional ice blocks) may reduce damage to the grass.

References

{{Ice Sledding