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"\"&lt;h1&gt;Best Laid Plans&amp;#8230;&lt;\\/h1&gt;\\n&lt;div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-1000084408 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon portrait'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_26\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"78\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_26.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_26\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon landscape'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_28\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"176\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_28.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_28\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon landscape'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_46\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"176\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_46.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_46\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon portrait'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/austin_smith_nitro_02\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"78\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/austin_smith_nitro_02.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"austin_smith_nitro_02\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon landscape'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_44\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"176\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_44.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_44\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon landscape'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/bryan_fox_nitro_12\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"176\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/bryan_fox_nitro_12.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"bryan_fox_nitro_12\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon landscape'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_39\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"176\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_39.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_39\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon landscape'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_441\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"176\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_441.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_441\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon landscape'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_461\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"176\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_461.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_461\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon landscape'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/bryan_fox_nitro_121\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"176\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/bryan_fox_nitro_121.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"bryan_fox_nitro_121\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon portrait'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/austin_smith_nitro_09\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"78\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/austin_smith_nitro_09.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"austin_smith_nitro_09\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;&lt;figure class='gallery-item'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;div class='gallery-icon landscape'&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t&lt;a href='http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/uncategorized\\/nitro-in-austria\\/attachment\\/bryan_fox_nitro_15\\/'&gt;&lt;img width=\\\"176\\\" height=\\\"117\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/snowboarding.transworld.net\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/442\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/bryan_fox_nitro_15.jpg\\\" class=\\\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\\\" alt=\\\"bryan_fox_nitro_15\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;\\n\\t\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n\\t\\t&lt;\\/div&gt;\\n\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Photos by Mark Welsh&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nWords by Liam Gallagher&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/em&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Nothing was going as planned. It was a pretty loose plan, but it seemed like it could work. Looser plans have panned out. We were supposed to be headed to Sarajevo, Bosnia to link up with some local heads and hunt for rails, ledges, and other places to ride boards in the streets. We were supposed to be going snowboarding in what used to be a war-zone. Sounded like some kind of adventure, right?&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;The plan was to meet in Munich, Germany and rally form there. We went for it, putting only partial stock in our itinerary\\u2014any more and we knew (maybe subconsciously) we could be let down. I was prepared to rethink everything, adapt and roll with the proverbial punches. Traveling for snowboarding has taught me that flexibility is a virtue.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Things fall apart. People miss flights. One day in the city turns into two, and then two and a half. It gets warm and then warmer and forecasts begin to call for rain. And then it starts raining\\u2014in the foothills at first, then all the way up to the higher elevations. Sources are saying Sarajevo\\u2019s soaked.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Back to the drawing board. Bosnia\\u2019s been abandoned, and reports of rain in the Alps are making us nervous. We\\u2019re now just looking for the shortest line to snow.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;We point it\\u2014tearing along the Autobahn at100 miles per hour, trying to make a four-hour drive in three. Wrong turns are tough to recover from at that speed, though, so we drive in circles, or really one big circle for almost eight hours. We\\u2019re clueless, but smart enough to finally buy a map. It leads us to Austria, but it\\u2019s raining there too. The quaint streets of St. Anton are soaked, and the drizzle is quickly turning into a downpour.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;The plan is really out the window now.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_39.jpg\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1000084453\\\" title=\\\"arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_39\\\" src=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_39.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" width=\\\"500\\\" height=\\\"333\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;h1&gt;What Now?&lt;\\/h1&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Check into a hotel. Listen to the rain on the roof and against the windows and into the puddles outside. Try to keep our heads up, feign optimism, look for the bright side \\u2026 and get a drink. Run into buddies\\u2014Curtis Ciszek, Zac Marben, Jake Price, and a couple other Volcommunists who have been in the area all week and seem way more stoked than we are.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cYou guys should\\u2019ve been here yesterday\\u2014waist deep and blower!\\u201d brags Curtis.&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n\\u201cBeen the best snowboarding of my life,\\u201d gloats someone else. \\u201cIt must\\u2019ve just warmed up like six hours ago.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Okay, assholes. We get it. Thanks. Stoked to be here, really. Waitress, \\u2019nother round, please. Nose in pint. Drink. Think\\u2014damn it.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Our crew is a little down, but not out. How could we be? I mean despite the obvious blunders and lack of foresight (Who plans a trip to Eastern Europe in early December?), despite the wasted days and pounding rain, we\\u2019re all hyped just to be out and about. This is the first international trip on Nitro\\u2019s dime for both Bryan Fox and Austin Smith. And with Josh Mills rounding out the team, it\\u2019s basically just a bunch of buddies on a mission.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Fox and Mills go way back, all of them have been High Cascade Snowboard Camp diggers and homies with Nitro\\u2019s renaissance company men Tonino Copene and Mark Welsh for years. And MDPeople lensman Pierre Minhondo\\u2014he\\u2019s impossible not to like. Yeah, the group dynamic is making up for any shortcomings in the conditions. And thank god for good company\\u2014\\u2019cause whatever gods control of the weather sure as hell aren\\u2019t on our side.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_441.jpg\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1000084454\\\" title=\\\"arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_441\\\" src=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_441.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" width=\\\"500\\\" height=\\\"333\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;h1&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Rained Out&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/h1&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Josh comes running into my room all wild-eyed and way too awake for 6:30 a.m.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;\\u201cI\\u2019ve been up since four\\u2014jet lag\\u2019s messing with me. We drove up to the mountain, and it was dumping. Twenty minutes up the road it\\u2019s puking\\u2014big, fat, Mt. Baker style flakes. It\\u2019s gotta be good somewhere. Let\\u2019s go.\\u201d&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Semi-frantic now, we hustle out of the hotel and head up the mountain. Sure enough, it\\u2019s heaving heavy snow. The sun\\u2019s coming up by the time we get to the first resort, St. Christoph, and that\\u2019s when it starts raining again\\u2014hard, big, Mt. Baker style rain drops. We couldn\\u2019t get a break.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Although morale waned some, we were still surrounded by some of the world\\u2019s most humbling mountains, and it was still early December\\u2014none of us had been spoiled by any epic days yet this season. So we decided to go snowboarding, in the rain, all day.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;And it was shit\\u2014couldn\\u2019t have been worse. The snow was stewed and soupy, and it grabbed your board, sending you starfishing down the hill. The rain splattered all over our goggles, rendering them useless two turns into the run. Our gloves dripped and then sponged, finally having to be rung out after three runs. And we wallowed in it like pigs in mud.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;\\u201cThis reminds be of riding at Mt. Hood,\\u201d says Bryan. \\u201cJosh and I would go up every day in any conditions no matter what, just to be on the mountain. And we didn\\u2019t think twice about riding in the rain. We\\u2019d wear garbage bags and sometimes go hide in the forest to stay dry. We just wanted to snowboard all the time, and that was it.\\u201d&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Yep, this was that.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_461.jpg\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1000084455\\\" title=\\\"arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_461\\\" src=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/arlberg_snowboarding_nitro_461.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" width=\\\"500\\\" height=\\\"333\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;h1&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;A Backstory&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/h1&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Bryan Fox and Josh Mills are best friends. After graduating high school in Southern California, they decided they wanted to snowboard, so they moved to Mt. Hood, lived in their cars, and did just that. Eventually, they were able to make riding their boards a job. They\\u2019ve kept their heads down ever since and rode hard every day. Now that Bryan\\u2019s on Nitro with Josh they get to travel the world together. It\\u2019s a snowboard dream realized.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;\\u201cMills and I were talking about how crazy it is that we get to come to places like this together,\\u201d says Bryan. \\u201cAnd it\\u2019s all because we really committed to something. It\\u2019s all about commitment.\\u201d&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Austin made that commitment, too. In junior high, he told his teachers he wanted to snowboard more (i.e. attend class less). After okaying it with his parents, he concocted a plan that would allow him to handle his school work and still get to shred seven days a week. He made good on scholastic commitments and graduated high school with honors. It wasn\\u2019t easy, but he wanted it bad and did what it took.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;\\u201cIf you just fully commit to something you can always make it happen,\\u201d says Austin. \\u201cI think it\\u2019s a lot easier than people think.\\u201d&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;There you go. Commit and you can\\u2019t fail.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/bryan_fox_nitro_121.jpg\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1000084458\\\" title=\\\"bryan_fox_nitro_121\\\" src=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/bryan_fox_nitro_121.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" width=\\\"500\\\" height=\\\"333\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;h1&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Get What\\u2019s Coming &lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/h1&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;\\u201cThis place is like Mt. Baker,\\u201d says Austin looking out the tram window at all the thick snow that\\u2019s finally falling. \\u201cYeah, but a hundred times better,\\u201d adds Curtis. Both these kids know Baker and have been steeped in the Northwest shred tradition\\u2014and both are aspiring cynics.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;But it\\u2019s dumping now\\u2014and hard not to be a little bit giddy about finally getting it good.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;So yeah, St. Anton is kind of like Mt. Baker\\u2014except that skiers outnumber snowboarders something like 100 to one. But there\\u2019re amazing high-alpine pow fields that extend into infinity, there\\u2019re big powder-caked and perfectly spaced-out trees, and there\\u2019re all these ravines made of walls stacked with pillows, and there\\u2019s deep, deep snow. Finally.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Stoke is high. We\\u2019re all riding together\\u2014just riding. We\\u2019re doing some documenting, but because it\\u2019s the first real powder day of the trip (and the season, for that matter), we\\u2019ve all agreed, although never out loud, to just shred. No packs. No stopping and scouting. No yelling back and forth trying to figure out where dude is dropping or when. Just runs\\u2014top to bottom, ducking ropes and ignoring patrollers and slashing with each other for the first time that season.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;No plan. Just snowboarding.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;It\\u2019s perfect.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/austin_smith_nitro_09.jpg\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1000084459\\\" title=\\\"austin_smith_nitro_09\\\" src=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/austin_smith_nitro_09.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" width=\\\"500\\\" height=\\\"750\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;h1&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;For What It\\u2019s Worth&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/h1&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/bryan_fox_nitro_12.jpg\\\"&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;I think it was on the fifth or sixth day that I picked up the Thrasher magazine that\\u2019d been floating around our hotel room. Flipping through it, I stopped on a story about an ill-fated skate trip. \\u201cFail to plan and you can plan to fail,\\u201d I read, and then paused.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Huh. My brain did some typical tangential wandering and eventually didn\\u2019t really agree with this football coach clich\\u00e9 about plans and failure. It seemed a little too defeatist.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;\\u201cF\\u2014k that,\\u201d I even wrote in my notebook.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;This little mantra really rubbed me the wrong way. Plans rarely hold up, especially plans involving snowboarding. But failed plans\\u2014or really a total lack of a plan\\u2014usually inspire situations that test your resourcefulness. It\\u2019s about reacting, dealing with what you\\u2019re dealt, staying loose, winging it, acting on impulse, surrendering to the cosmos, and keeping it free and easy-style. I wondered if the wank who said this ever knew the joy of involuntary improvisation. Was he so anal retentive as to have every last bowel movement penciled into the calendar? Did he hate the fun that comes with having to make do?&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Turns out, it was this dude Harvey McKay, and he was actually misquoted in Thrasher. What Harv actually said was, \\u201cFailures don\\u2019t plan to fail, they fail to plan.\\u201d Okay, but what about those of us who might fail to plan on purpose, just to see what comes of it? Are we really destined to fail?&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;I don\\u2019t think so.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Either way, what\\u2019s even more odd is that homeboy also had another motivational speakerism that seems surprisingly poignant, considering our trip\\u2019s successes, failures, and general discourse on commitment. \\u201cFind something you love to do and you\\u2019ll never have to work a day in your life,\\u201d McKay is also credited with saying. I think Confucious might\\u2019ve been the first to actually utter this little nugget of wisdom\\u2026regardless, it remains good advice.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;span&gt;This trip and our individual pursuits of snowboarding seemed cases in point. We succeeded because we\\u2019d committed to do something we love. As far as I\\u2019m concerned, that\\u2019s all the plan you ever need.&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/bryan_fox_nitro_15.jpg\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1000084460\\\" title=\\\"bryan_fox_nitro_15\\\" src=\\\"\\/files\\/2008\\/12\\/15\\/bryan_fox_nitro_15.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" width=\\\"500\\\" height=\\\"333\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p class=\\\"MsoNormal\\\"&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://snowboarding.transworld.net/uncategorized/nitro-in-austria/?pid=28793>