Testing All Ice Slides in Kemerovo with a Child

The long January holidays have begun, so it«s the perfect time to visit the ice towns set up in all districts of Kemerovo. NGS42 correspondents turned into New Year»s inspectors and tested all the popular slides in the regional capital. Read our review, grab your sled, and hurry up to relive your childhood.

We are helped in rating the coolest sledding spots by nine-year-old Mark and his mother Elena Guskova. The latter will assess the structures for safety, while the schoolboy — for thrills. Also catching an adrenaline rush is 22-year-old NGS42 correspondent Valeria Gorodetskaya. Let«s go!

Kirovsky District

The ice town in Kirovsky District is set up in the backyard of the «Kirovets» sports complex. The location, it seemed to us, is inconvenient. If you park along Ushakov Street, you still have to walk a hundred meters along narrow, unshoveled sidewalks.

Honestly, the New Year«s site doesn»t amaze: two slides and a Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the winter beauty is decorated nicely. Frost, which covered the entire crown during the cold snap, adds to its beauty and charm.

They«ve flooded the ice in the hockey rink for winter fun. The skating rink looks perfectly smooth — a great option for learning to skate. On Thursday morning, the ice town is empty, but the snow, it»s clear, is constantly cleared here.

Mark volunteered first to test the «steepness» of the big slide in Kirovsky District. Elena wasn«t afraid to let her son go, as the structure itself isn»t high, there are side rails, the steps are wooden, and the slope isn«t long.

— Sliding down on the sled, I got a little scared, the speed was high. But on the inflatable tube, it didn«t really work. I»d say, speed is 50%, and surprise is zero. On the sled — it«s 100% stars, — shares our little expert.

Valeria then took a ride, and here are her impressions:

— The slide looks scary, I don«t understand how Mark wasn»t afraid. First impressions: not painful, interesting, cool. You don«t bruise your butt, so a solid seven out of ten, — said our correspondent after the ride.

Overall, we have no questions about safety, but there aren«t any other entertainments besides the two slides. Riding to your heart»s content is a matter of half an hour. What a child should do next — is unclear. By the way, there are no toilets nearby except in the sports complex itself.

Rudnichny District

The ice town on Raduga was built in the Alley of Friendship of Peoples, located along Shakhterov Avenue. The area opened just a day ago, but some amenities are not yet set up. Closed, for example, is the stall with drinks and food, and sledding on one of the slides is also prohibited.

The Christmas tree for Rudnichny residents is no worse than in Kirovsky: fluffy, tall, and decorated with large ornaments. Nearby stand ice figures and a small maze.

The height of the big slide is about two meters (6.5 feet), but few will feel fear sliding down it. The ice is even: without chips or holes.

— That turn! It was cool! I«m totally shocked that I actually slid down a huge slide. This one is better, [than in Kirovsky District]. For example, there are two lanes here and it»s the fastest slide, — said our young inspector.

— I like that there are two separate lanes, children don«t collide. The runoff area is shared, but the speed here isn»t that great. And the fact that two parallel streams can go — it«s convenient and efficient. The steps are also wooden, there are handrails, overall safe, — approved Mark»s mom.

— I veered off the track somewhere, but it wasn«t painful. The slide on Raduga isn»t as steep, in terms of the slope angle. Nevertheless, it is wider and more interesting to ride on. The ice is flooded almost to the playground about ten meters from the town. I give it nine out of ten, — praised Valeria Gorodetskaya.

Leninsky District

The next stop on our test drive — the linear park on Stroitely Boulevard. Here, specialists have created several ice figures and two slides: for older and younger children.

The town is set up not far from the famous cafe-fountain. But here too there«s a problem: the establishment»s doors are closed. Townspeople can escape the cold in nearby stalls with coffee and pancakes, although they«ll have to pay for it. It»s better than nothing at all.

You won«t find a public toilet in the nearby square, the nearest free one — is in the part of the park beyond the ring road. Where to take a child during a long walk is unclear.

However, we saw with our own eyes how they maintain the structures. When we arrived, a specialist was working on site, removing a bump that had formed on the slope.

Ten minutes — and the slide was open again. Let«s assess how much you can scream and have fun on it. Mark first tested the power of his voice.

— A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a, u-a-a-a-a, u-a-a-a-a. This is a real record [for speed]. Mega-fast. Let«s say, this slide is also not bad. Four stars. It»s almost impossible to ride here together, — commented the schoolboy.

Elena considered the slide safe for children: the handrails and steps meet a mother«s requirements. But according to the parent, during peak hours she wouldn»t bring a child here: the structure is too small for dozens of schoolchildren.

Valeria, while filming the process, managed to slip. Walking around the slides, in her opinion, should be done carefully, running — even more so.

— What a scary slope. Here you accelerate on the sled the most. I actually liked it, — shared Lera her opinion about the slide.

Central District

In the city center, we decided to test two slides: on Sovetov Square and in the Arts Square park.

In the park on Kommunisticheskaya Street, there are few winter amusements. Just a slide, and that«s it. Mark rated the square»s decorations a C-minus. The sorry-looking figures, including a plump matryoshka and a square kolobok (round bun), didn«t please him. Only the forest beauty with cute ornaments on the branches saves the place.

The slide itself can hardly be called icy. A wooden frame, which stands here even in summer, was flooded with water. Moreover, specialists for some unknown reason didn«t remove the resulting holes and bumps.

Elena, seeing the structure her child was about to test, doubted its safety. But our little expert couldn«t be stopped, he snatched his sled and ran to check the new object. As it turned out, the mother»s premonition didn«t fail her.

— Ouch, that hurts! I [bruised] my butt good. Hit my leg too. I give zero stars overall, — the Kemerovo resident reported sadly after the ride.

Valeria agreed with his opinion, who almost ended up at the trauma center along with a random passerby.

— The runoff here goes straight onto pedestrian paths. I almost hit a woman who managed to stop a second before collision. I myself bruised everything there was to bruise. What can I say, there«s some kind of ledge at the bottom, and you hit it painfully. Here, it»s not an option to sled at all, only on an inflatable tube, — pronounced the 22-year-old correspondent.

Rubbing our bruised behinds, we headed to Kemerovo«s main ice town. On Sovetov Square on Thursday afternoon, dozens of teenagers are running around, and a queue gathers at the slides.

By the way, far from all schoolchildren follow safety rules. Some townspeople ignore the stairs and climb up the slippery handrails to get ahead of the crowd. Elena noted this, worrying that her son might accidentally be knocked over by older children.

What the site looks like overall, the NGS42 editorial team has already told and shown. There are three ice slides here: for teenagers and adults, younger children, and toddlers.

The structure in the city center, as expected, is the tallest — by eye about 2.5 meters (8.2 feet). Let«s take a ride and assess the convenience.

— Hey-hey, watch out! Now that«s a slide! I slid down just splendidly. I give it ten points. The speed here is incredible, — said Mark after several minutes of extreme.

Next, a dose of adrenaline was snatched by journalist Valeria, who completely agreed with her younger colleague«s opinion. The speed here is excellent, but there are minuses.

— There are very many people, which makes it scary to ride. Children knock each other over. In terms of ride emotions — this is the coolest slide of all. High speed, you fly for a long time. The slope descends slowly, you don«t bounce. Ten out of ten, — the girl rated.

Rating

After riding the most popular slides in Kemerovo, we were able to compile a rating. We evaluated the attractions by the level of scream (just kidding!). Here are the points we focused on: safety, quality and length of the slope, and amenities in the town.

First place unanimously deserved the slide on Sovetov Square, second — the town in the Alley of Friendship of Peoples in Rudnichny District. The latter won our hearts thanks to the divider along the width of the slope.

Closing the top three is Leninsky District, where for complete happiness, a free toilet nearby is lacking.

Fourth place went to the slide in Kirovsky District. Made well, but other figures or entertainments are missing.

Last place, as you guessed, goes to the slide that left our experts with injuries. We do not recommend the town in Arts Square park.