In classic cartoons, whenever a character falls down a snow-covered hill, it's guaranteed that they will pick up snow and form a giant snowball that grows in size as it careens downwards, absorbing everything in its path. I have tried to do this in real life for hours with no success. It seems that the body's (hopefully) non-spherical shape, as well as the fact that winter jackets are designed to repel snow, prevent a falling person from accumulating layers of frozen precipitation, for better or for worse.

After hitting getting embedded in a snowdrift for the fifth time, I came up with an idea for a now sport, which I have decided to call Snowballing.

Participants of Snowballing (henceforth referred to as "snowballers" are ensconced in a specially designed Zorb sphere at the top of a tall and snowy slope. This Zorb is textured roughly and sprayed with moisture in order to attract snow more easily. After putting on a helmet for safety, the snowballer pushes off down the hill. As they roll, they gain speed and snow, until they are effectively a giant rolling snowball. Debris and stray animals are incorporated into the ball, and the snow acts as a shock- absorbing cushion that protects the person inside from external harm. Observing the sport in action should be a whimsical diversion as well; multiple snowballers on the slope at one time could even get stuck together after a collision. After rolling to a stop at the bottom of the hill, snowballers can dig their way out and head back up for another exhilarating round.
-- DrWorm, Oct 25 2010

Zorb Death on Ski Hill https://www.youtube...watch?v=-uBFwqI4TlM
Where else, but Russia? [Cuit_au_Four, Nov 18 2015]

This is a trick, where after the contest, the participants are impaled on a trees and sold as treats to Transformers.
-- leinypoo13, Oct 25 2010


I think you will first need to do some serious work on finding a venue. My experience in rolling snowmen makes me think that just the right kind of snow is needed--I don't know the Eskimo word for it, but you will need the moist snow, not dry powder. You will also need to find a slope of just the right angle--too shallow and nothing will roll, too steep and the snow will already have avalanched.

You might be able to make a slope with some anti-avalanche fixtures, spray the right snow, and call it an art project to even be able to make rolling snowballs.

Seriously, has any rolling, growing, downhill snowball ever happened in real life? I've seen one picture of a few rollers that started from the branches of pine trees, but they formed cylinders that broke up and then stopped after maybe twenty feet.
-- baconbrain, Oct 25 2010


I'm a part-time ski instructor, and I've seen many children amuse themselves by releasing tiny snowballs down the ski slope that quickly grow in size--this being the kind of snow that is artificially blown at night on the east coast of the U.S. Incidentally, ski slopes would be perfect for this activity, as long as no actual skiers were on them. Snowboarders are encouraged to stay.
-- DrWorm, Oct 25 2010


(+) Now That would be fun.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Oct 25 2010


Hmmm... word to the wise: don't look up 'snowballing' on the Internet.
-- daseva, Oct 25 2010


Beautiful, snowy Katamari. [+]
Surprised [benfrost] hasn't popped-in to claim it's existence in the adult film industry. Not QUITE the same game, though.
-- Letsbuildafort, Oct 26 2010


+ like going over the falls in a barrel?
-- xandram, Oct 27 2010


Not as much fun as managing to convince snowboarders that it's possible to "surf" an avalanche, but still, fun. [+]
-- 8th of 7, Oct 27 2010



random, halfbakery