As we were pulling our slides back up the hill for another run, Joe said, “I wonder what cold steel tastes like.” Now, it wasn't uncommon to grab a handful of snow while walking and stuff it in our mouths as long as it wasn't yellow from some passing dog. But nobody had thought about tasting some part of his sled.

“I don't know,” Rod said. “Why don't you try it?”

That's all it took. Joe picked up his sled and licked the runner. The next thing we heard was “Aagh! Maa ton stuuck.”