As the winter weather continues and the snow mounts, snowboarders of all skill levels and ages hit the mountains to “tear up some fresh powder.” The open mountain, chilling air, and wintry atmosphere appease the boarders, adding that special feel to a great day on the mountain. Experienced boarders, junior Jake Glebocki, senior Kyle Pixley, and junior Meg Dubord, frequent the best mountains in the area to get the action and excitement that each ride brings. Each feels that snowboarding is an important part of their lives during the winter months, and it is the best release they have from their everyday pressures.

Glebocki started in the sport for self expression. “I just liked how I was able to express different sides of myself.” He credits his interest in the sport to snowboarder Danny Kass, but says that influence can be found from boarders at any level. “Everyone who snowboards is an influence to boarders everywhere,” said Glebocki. “It can be [anyone] from the pros to just friends on the mountain. When a boarder sees someone do something you like, you want to go and try the same thing; that’s how you get better.”

Glebocki added that to get better, lots of practice and time on the mountain is required for any boarder to advance their skill level. “Of course, some mountains are better than others, and the better mountains will provide a boarder with several opportunities to advance their skills,” he said. “My favorite mountain is Okemo, but I don’t have much money, so I haven’t been there in a while.”

The feeling of carving through the snow, hitting the jump, and pulling off an impressive trick is what Glebocki lives for. “The excitement, the adrenaline rush, the trick, and the finish are an unbelievable feeling,” he said. His favorite aspect of snowboarding is getting away from the everyday pressures he feels as a student and as a multi-sport athlete. “Coach Donovan enjoys putting a burden of guilt upon me when I go snowboarding. I go back to the mountains to get away from the pressures of school and playing football. Once I commit to hit the jump, I forget about him until I land,” he said. Glebocki added that he is fearless on the slopes, but he worries minutely about injuries. “Before I lift off to perform a trick, I’m a bit nervous, but I think everyone is,” he said.

Glebocki is used to the pressures competition brings, but he said that in competitions with other boarders, it’s a whole different story. “I haven’t been in that many competitions, but the ones that I have been in are against boarders that have been doing it for a long time, and as hard as I try, it’s difficult to win,” he said.

When it comes to how the public views his sport, Glebocki feels that people are looking for excitement and innovation. “More people are looking for an adrenaline rush, and watching all the things that the pros try in events like the X-Games or snowboarding videos makes anyone want to get out there and try it,” he said. He also understands why the athletes continually strap into their bindings and go down the mountains. “Snowboarding is their life; this is what they have to live off of. It gives them respect and they do it because they love it,” he said. “The fans are the reason snowboarding is where it is now.”

Glebocki is very thankful for snowboarding and praises the sport as an outlet in which he can be himself. “It lets me do what I want without having teammates or coaches. It’s just you, your board, and the snow, and that’s how I want it to be.”

Similarly, senior Kyle Pixley is in it for the fun and the excitement that is involved with the sport. “It’s an extreme, and it’s really fun; who wouldn’t want to do it?” he said.

Going along with Glebocki’s comment, Pixley feels that boarders of all ages see each other as an influence. “It’s always a learning experience to be around boarders of all ages, to see the younger ones and remember how I was when I started, to looking to older ones and wondering if I will be that good,” he said. “Many people pick it up from watching others do it; my sister does it because I do.”

Pixley makes most of his boarding trips to Ascutney Mountain and Mt. Snow. He loves snowboarding for many of the same reasons others do, but mostly for the freestyle ability one has while in the air. “I love the rush when I hit a jump and the weightlessness that follows,” he said. “It’s a surreal experience to hit the jump and have the ability to do whatever you want in the air, even for that short amount of time. It’s just important to land the trick in the end.” Even though he knows that there is danger involved, he doesn’t really care. “I’ll take the risk; the reward is far greater than what could happen if I didn’t land a trick,” said Pixley.

Opting out of competitions, Pixley enjoys the sport for the basic idea of it; being able to have an exciting sport that can be done with friends in a fun atmosphere. He believes that people have become interested in the sport since it is very addictive. “The sport is something that I feel everybody wants to try at some point and possibly get highly involved in,” he said. “The opportunities that can come from the sport are virtually endless.”

Pixley finished by saying that in the winter, he lives for the chance to get to a mountain and ‘tear up some fresh powder.’ “I love getting out and doing it for hours; it’s a great experience. Too bad it takes up so much of my money.”

Junior Meg Dubord began her interest in the sport while looking for change. “I skied for five years, and when snowboarding became popular, I thought it would be more fun and a lot easier.”

She said she was influenced by female boarder Tara Dakides, but credits her days with friends and instructors on the mountain as the basis for her love of the sport. “At Blandford, there was this guy named Ben and he taught me how to snowboard. He was real chill, and his love for snowboarding was evident, and it rubbed off on me,” she said. “But now Henry Padden, one of my best friends, is always on the mountain with me, pushing me to do better and stick with it, plus he is the best snowboarder I know.”

While at Wachusett, her favorite park, she has fond memories of the terrain park and the trails. During her descent down the mountain, Dubord relates her surreal experience to flying, loving the speed and ability to be creative and free. She said that when she is going to hit a trick, fear is the last thought passing through her mind. “When you want to stick a trick, you just do it; injury comes with the territory. So if you get hurt, you get hurt,” she said.

Besides carving down the mountain, Dubord has taken an interest in the half pipe and a desire for competition. “I’ve been practicing in the pipe pretty recently, I haven’t won anything yet, but I plan on it soon.” The excitement involved with the tricks that can be pulled off in the half pipe is just one reason why Dubord feels that people like the sport. “It’s too fun for people not to do it,” she said. “There are so many different elements to snowboarding that its impossible not to find something that someone could like.”

Simply put, Dubord believes, “snowboarding is all about the love of the sport, and being with friends.” She also added that snowboarding creates a distinct, comforting emotion that she cannot find anywhere else. “It just makes me happy, whether its riding back country or hitting the pipe, I’m always smiling.