Okay, Susanna I decided to get on line the other day and check out this newest thing in the snowboarding world; SOL. I must admit this is not something I do regularly. Usually, I am really surfing or snowboarding not "net surfing" but everybody's talking about it so I thought I should know what's going on.

The first thing I get in my face is your article, "Snowboarders Suck and I'm Not Jealous". Wow! Being thoroughly annoyed by your negative energy I decided to go back and read all of your articles.

For someone who openly admits to knowing nothing about snowboarding, writing a book for the money, and smoozing with New York big wigs to get this money, I wonder how in the hell you've managed to wiggle your way into being a voice in this wonderful sport of ours?

I assume it's those New York smoozing or "boozing" techniques that tend to catch us lowly ol' snowboarders off guard. Anyways, I must say not one thing I've seen you write has portrayed our sport in a positive light.

Don't want to toot my own horn, but being a person that has been active in this sport for 10 years, never have I been so angered (except with Lee Crane's portrayal of snowboarders in Snow Country magazine a few years ago) by an article. One minute you talk about how you hear from team managers how spoiled and lazy we are and the next we get blessed with your Hectic Schedule (A Broken Woman, Life on the Road Takes It's Toll).

Wait minute! You think your travel schedule is grueling? Industry conferences, pads and paper, sleeping on people's floors. How about 5 am wake-up calls, snowmobiling 15 miles out, hiking for 45 minutes and dropping into a hairball chute that you pray doesn't decide to break loose and avalanche on top of you. Do this a couple more times and for the next five days in a row. Or how about all those pros that attend a different contest every weekend for 6 months of the year only to not make the qualifiers because the judges didn't like their outfit. And for sleeping on floors, most of us have been doing that for years. Yes, we have the best job in the world, but it is hard sometimes. Let me also make it very clear that we don't ever "hate snowboarding," very few pro's "only snowboard when there's either a panel of judges or a camera in front of them" (Snowboarders Suck article). We do it cause we love it. Amazing concept isn't it.

I guess that your response to some of this might be that you don't really know, don't really care, you were just relaying information people told you. Well a lot of people in this industry talk a lot of shit, especially jealous ones. What angers me the most is that you write about this shit. Who cares? This is not what snowboarding is all about.

I have heard through the grapevine that you are having a hard time getting riders to respond to some questions for your book. A little advice, maybe if you didn't dis us so hard we might be a little more cooperative, but maybe not, it seems very obvious that you just don't understand this sport. If you are truly "seeking the soul of snowboarding" as you claim, I suggest you remove yourself from all of this industry bullshit and go snowboarding.

Unfortunately, the future of snowboarding and how "the average Joe" sees us is partially in the hands of people like you. (Perhaps I should take a writing class). If you care at all about the feeling you get shredding pow maybe you will re-evaluate your attitude and instead of focusing on how snowboarders suck, how hard traveling is etc. you'll write about something that matters, and we'll want to listen.

A lot of professional snowboarders risk their lives regularly (we've lost a few friends this year) to be a part of something as amazing and fulfilling as snowboarding. We do it cause we love it, no other reason!! See you on the top, or maybe not.