No Guts, No Glory, Dude

Snowboarders at Harvard? As incongruous as that may sound, they do exist--and are avid enthusiasts at that. No, they don't all boast long, tangled locks, neither do they sport tattoos or rings on unspeakable body parts, but they do seek death just as much as any other boarder would.

The prospect of permanent disability does not seem to faze the boarders of the Harvard Radcliffe Snowboarding Club. "The fear factor" is what lures Elizabeth B. Miller '94 to the sport.

"Sometimes I think about falling, but more often, I focus on reacting to what's ahead--the ice, the humps," says Gary S.H. Fortier '94.

"I concentrate on keeping my body aligned and balanced," says David P. Redlin '94.

Both are attracted to the speed, the adrenalin rush of racing down the slopes. "I just try to see how fast I can get down," says Fortier.

Eric T. Atkisson '94 nearly smashed his skull on the side of narrow ravine in New Hampshire's Mt. Washington. But he still craves the thrill of coasting down the slopes.

"God, I can't wait to go buck," Atkisson gushes.

Back in Cambridge, they shed their snowgear for the tamer trappings of college life. Here, away from the slopes, they take on the persona of the motivated Harvard student, demonstrating their talents in more sedate pursuits.

Redlin is an economics concentrator who works at a robotics lab. Currently, he is looking for a consulting job. Fortier is a ROTC student studying government. Miller is a per-med English concentrator who plays the cello.

Occasionally, on cold wintry nights, you'll find a boarder gliding down the snowy steps of Widener. Other than that, the snowboarding contingent doesn't leave many tracks of their favorite pastime.