"My first few years of college all I did was study and concentrate on good grades. Then I got into snowboarding."

     The confessions of a twenty-one year old Marissa Stoler with a
falling G.P.A. hanging over her head.
     Be it training in the pipes at Mt. Hood all summer or freeriding 
most of the winter at Squaw, Marissa's style is smooth and solid. 
Her spring and fall are spent attending UCSB and living in Santa 
Barbara's college community. early winter she mostly rides with her 
friend Ann-Marie at the closest resort, Mammoth Mountain. But time 
on the snow is limited to only weekends and school holidays. That's 
until she opted to pass up a college winter quarter to live and ride at 
Squaw. Since then, her riding has totally improved but her grades 
haven't. 
     Marissa recollects, "Last spring semester it was really hard 
for me to get into it (college). All I could think about and look 
forward to was summer at Mt. Hood."  
     After years of skiing at Tahoe with her dad she first stepped into a
snowboard binding around 1991 at Boreal.  Her friends still opted to ski,
while she chose snowboarding. 
     "I didn't know if I was regular or goofy, so I rented a goofy board at the
shop and I was like: This is so hard! So,I rode this board with a huge nose and
short tail the other way, and realized that I was a regular foot. it was like
three feet of powder and I was just sweating, riding the bunny lift, totally
covered in snow. Then after changing the bindings, things went much smoother
until we got back to the car."  
     She continues with her greenhorn experience in snow, "We drove 
my friends Volvo into an already snowy parking lot at Boreal. Then  
by the time we were done riding  the tires were buried from the 
storm, and the wheels were just spinning. Eventually  we had to get 
towed out of our parking spot by a snowcat. We were the last ones 
left in the parking lot."  Ever since that day she started riding at 
Mammoth with Ann Marie, then eventually entered local halfpipe 
contests. Pretty soon things started to snowball and the opportunity 
of sponsorship presented itself. "I've had offers from companies 
before but nothing solid."
     Marissa (for some time now) has been seeking the solid support 
of a company so she can continue to travel and compete. She placed  
first at the Sierra @ Tahoe National Amateur Finals in halfpipe last 
April and later attended the US Open in Stratton, Vermont, on her 
own nickel. The competition results were nothing to write home 
about, but the four day experience of riding "the rock pipe" as she 
calls it made her a better rider. 
     "I always heard the US Open is supposed to be one of the funnest
contests to attend and I gained a lot of experience by participating. But now I
realize that the judging format of professional and amateur contests still has 
a long way to go. I've seen obvious people who should have won but didn't. And in 
local amateur events I've seen judges who don't even pay attention 
to the rider taking his or her  run. It sucks!"
     Marissa now contemplates going back to UCSB full time, "My grades aren't
good enough to make it into med school like I originally planned," but 
reflects on a positive note,  "but I found a Job so I can stay at Hood 
all summer!"     
-Chris Carnel