BOSTON — Thrill-seekers jump out windows into snowbanks and posting videos of their feats online. Snowmobilers race through normally busy Boston streets with snowboarders in tow. And college students ski and sled down a colossal snow pile dubbed “Mount MIT.”
In New England’s winter blast, there has been no shortage of horseplay.
“I’ve been in the house an awful lot, and I’ve been getting stir-crazy, so I don’t blame people for doing stupid stuff,” said John Goodman, a Cambridge resident marveling at “Mount MIT” on Wednesday. “Everything has become an obstacle. So rather than let it continue to be an obstacle, let it become something entertaining.”
Police in Boston said they have not had to deal with reports of snow-related mischief, but department spokesman Michael McCarthy urged people not to do foolish things.
“Common sense would hopefully dictate a lot of what people are doing out there,” he said. “Obviously if you are sledding down mountains of snow into a lane of traffic, that’s not the best thing to be doing.”
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has been appealing to residents to stop jumping out windows into the snow, which is piled 10 feet high or more in places.
“It’s a foolish thing to do, and you could kill yourself,” Walsh said this week.
Snowmobilers were spotted near the Boston University campus during the last weekend’s storm, which dumped more than a foot of new powder. At least one snowmobiler in a video posted online had a snowboarder in tow.
Tucked between dormitory buildings near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus is a towering pile of snow, perhaps three stories high, dubbed “The Alps of MIT” or “Mount Cambridge.”
Located in a parking lot used as a dumping ground for snow, the mountain has quickly become a popular spot for skiing, sledding and other winter pastimes. The university has put up a chain-link fence and posted “No Trespassing” signs, but that hasn’t discouraged some visitors.
