December 1, 1998

When it comes to diseases, if you or a family member isn't suffering from one, it's easy to pretend they don't exist. The snowboarding industry would appear to have little to do with disease (unless you consider quitting your job and moving to the mountains an affliction), but under sunny April skies on the spring-baked snow blanketing Lake Tahoe's mountains, the snowboarding community banded together to put a spotlight on a cancer that kills thousands every year.

Boarding for Breast Cancer-the national organization dedicated to increasing breast-cancer awareness among American youth-raised 112,000 dollars for The Breast Cancer Fund and The Susan G. Komen Foundation. Over 4,000 people attended the music/snowboarding event, held at Sierra-at-Tahoe, which featured performances by Moby, Foo Fighters, Royal Crown Revue, and Supersuckers. The halfpipe and big-air exhibitions saw Olympic bronze-medalist Shannon Dunn, Tina Basich, and Michele Taggart going big and smooth, all in the name of charity.

The importance of BBC's efforts was amplified by the death of Linda McCartney from breast cancer the day of the event. Breast cancer doesn't have to kill-through early detection the disease can be successfully treated. Thanks goes out to Kodak, Burton, Fuse Sports Marketing, all the other sponsors, Mother Nature, and everyone who volunteered their time. Next year's event is tentatively scheduled for April 17, at Sierra-at-Tahoe. -SL