Trudging home from class yesterday, snowboarding club member Teage Ernst recalled witnessing the first wipeout of the season, and it wasn't on the slopes.

"This chick was walking on the sidewalk, and she slipped and fell. It was like slow motion. It was hilarious," Ernst (sophomore-mechanical engineering) said, mimicking the girl's panicked shriek as she dropped everything she was carrying.

But Paul Ruskin, an Office of Physical Plant spokesman, said his crew tries hard to prevent such mishaps.

Ruskin wrote in a e-mail that during each snowfall, 221 university workers clear snow from 17,000 parking spaces, about 11,000 doorways, 32 miles of paved roads and 25 miles of walkways on campus.

They even clear every one of the 540 steps of Eastview Terrace. Ruskin said the crew of 156 shovelers was at it again for this storm, some even starting their shifts at 10 last night.

"We can't guarantee that you're not going to slip," Ruskin wrote, "but we do the best we can."

The same type of work was going on yesterday in downtown State College, which was under a snow emergency as of 2:30 p.m. yesterday. A snow emergency mandates that all cars must be removed from borough streets under penalty of being towed so that snow can be properly removed.

However, Mark Whitfield, the borough public works director, admitted his crew can't get it all. The primary focus of the borough's eight to 12 plows is to clear major roadways such as Atherton Street, Beaver Avenue, Blue Course Drive and College Avenue.

Sidewalk shoveling is up to property owners and can get costly when not completed, Whitfield said.

"Snow must be removed within 24 hours," he said. "Some residents are very good. Others need some work."

Not shoveling a sidewalk can yield $10 for the first offense and $25 to $35 the second time. For repeat offenders, a property owner can be billed so a borough-hired shoveler can clear the accumulation.

Residents are also reminded to not park on specified streets between 2 and 6 a.m. to avoid being towed while plows do their work, Whitfield said.

Along with public works employees, the State College Police Department was equally busy handling a slightly elevated number of "disabled vehicle" cases, Lt. Dana Leonard said. He said most accidents occurred because drivers missed corners, overshot turns or skidded off the road.

The Mifflin County Regional Police also reported that Route 322 in the Seven Mountains area was temporarily closed yesterday because of multiple traffic accidents.

On West College Avenue between Fraser and Allen streets, a Centre Area Transportation Authority bus collided with a snowplow. No injuries were reported, but the incident contributed to already slowed downtown traffic.

Some students were embracing the wintry mix.

Hannah Morton (junior-psychology) briskly walked home, anticipating meeting her boyfriend to go sledding in a saucer near W.R. Hickey Beer Distributor, 1321 E. College Ave.

Lucky for sledders, the conditions aren't expected to improve this week. AccuWeather meteorologist Kerry Schwindenhammer said he has a "gut feeling" State College will get another inch or two on Friday.

"It doesn't look like a big storm," he said. "But don't be shocked if we get a coating in a couple of places."

Alison Kolensky (senior-aerospace engineering) looked prepared as she shuffled home on Burrowes Street yesterday afternoon, huddled underneath her pink umbrella.

"I'm used to this," Kolensky said with only her face visible underneath a black, fuzzy hood.

Penn State officials were unable to confirm if classes will be canceled today, but encouraged students to check live.psu.edu for updates.