Nate Holland is a snowboarding athlete competing at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Though snowboard cross has been on the Olympic program only one time, Nate Holland feels that reaching an Olympic podium is long overdue. "The Olympic medal is a huge motivation right now," he says. "I mean, it's kind of consumed me since two years prior to Torino, since '04 when it was announced that [snowboard cross] was going to be an Olympic sport.... So I dedicated like two and a half years going into Torino. As soon as I fell in Torino [finishing 14th], I'm like, well—Vancouver, here I come. Four more years. And I've had great success these years in between, and I just hope that I'm fast on that day." The "great success" to which Holland alludes: winning his fifth straight X Games title in 2010 and claiming a bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships.
In 2008, Holland made a trip to Afghanistan to visit with American troops there, and made a trip to Iraq in July 2009. In addition to seeing such sights as the first place a bomb struck at the outset of the Iraq war and Saddam Hussein's palace, Holland wrote on his Twitter page that he went to various Forward Operating Bases (F.O.B.'s) where American troops were stationed. "I like going over there and supporting the troops and giving those guys any sort of boost that I can," he says.
For years, Holland's close friend and teammate, reigning Olympic snowboard cross champion Seth Wescott, has gone to Alaska in the spring to do first descents on various mountains, dropping out of a helicopter onto staggeringly steep mountain faces and riding down. Recently, Holland got the opportunity to join Wescott on one of his Alaskan voyages and recalls the experience being nothing short of exhilarating (and terrifying). "Being up there, I mean, these mountains are scary, they're huge," Holland says. "They're three-thousand vertical feet, you get dropped off on top of these huge peaks. "And, I mean, I'm shaking up there... It's really scary up there, and it's like a life or death situation all the time, so it's cool to have somebody that has that knowledge of the mountain."
In addition to traveling overseas to support American troops, Holland is an ambassador for an organization called Protect Our Winters (http://protectourwinters.org). "It's an organization, nonprofit organization, informing people of renewable resources," he explains. "They have different programs. They brought a bunch of inner city kids from the Bay Area in a school bus up to Tahoe to let them see snow for the first time and to kind of just start sparking interest. Solar for our Schools is a program that they support. I try to give back. I mean, the winters are definitely important to a snowboarder, and it's a cause that I really stand behind."
Though he makes his living on snow, Holland likes to spend much of his free time on water. Asked what he does when he's momentarily free from training obligations, he says, "Well, living in North Lake Tahoe, there's the lake in the summer, so I'm into all of the water sports. Swimming. Boating. Wakeboarding. Water skiing. Lake surfing." Holland used to teach wakeboarding and water skiing at a water skiing school (and still occasionally teaches, which helps him get access to a boat). He also likes riding mountain bikes, dirt bikes and fly fishing.
Born in Sandpoint, Idaho, Holland was into skateboarding and skiing when he was younger and decided to try snowboarding when he saw it in movies. His favorite snowboarding movie was Critical Condition, much of which was filmed at Squaw Valley, California. Holland came to idolize Shawn Farmer and Damian Sanders, who starred in the film. Holland is now based at Squaw Valley himself.
Though snowboard cross has been on the Olympic program only one time, Nate Holland feels that reaching an Olympic podium is long overdue. "The Olympic medal is a huge motivation right now," he says. "I mean, it's kind of consumed me since two years prior to Torino, since '04 when it was announced that [snowboard cross] was going to be an Olympic sport.... So I dedicated like two and a half years going into Torino. As soon as I fell in Torino [finishing 14th], I'm like, well—Vancouver, here I come. Four more years. And I've had great success these years in between, and I just hope that I'm fast on that day." The "great success" to which Holland alludes: winning his fifth straight X Games title in 2010 and claiming a bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships.
In 2008, Holland made a trip to Afghanistan to visit with American troops there, and made a trip to Iraq in July 2009. In addition to seeing such sights as the first place a bomb struck at the outset of the Iraq war and Saddam Hussein's palace, Holland wrote on his Twitter page that he went to various Forward Operating Bases (F.O.B.'s) where American troops were stationed. "I like going over there and supporting the troops and giving those guys any sort of boost that I can," he says.
For years, Holland's close friend and teammate, reigning Olympic snowboard cross champion Seth Wescott, has gone to Alaska in the spring to do first descents on various mountains, dropping out of a helicopter onto staggeringly steep mountain faces and riding down. Recently, Holland got the opportunity to join Wescott on one of his Alaskan voyages and recalls the experience being nothing short of exhilarating (and terrifying). "Being up there, I mean, these mountains are scary, they're huge," Holland says. "They're three-thousand vertical feet, you get dropped off on top of these huge peaks. "And, I mean, I'm shaking up there... It's really scary up there, and it's like a life or death situation all the time, so it's cool to have somebody that has that knowledge of the mountain."
In addition to traveling overseas to support American troops, Holland is an ambassador for an organization called Protect Our Winters (http://protectourwinters.org). "It's an organization, nonprofit organization, informing people of renewable resources," he explains. "They have different programs. They brought a bunch of inner city kids from the Bay Area in a school bus up to Tahoe to let them see snow for the first time and to kind of just start sparking interest. Solar for our Schools is a program that they support. I try to give back. I mean, the winters are definitely important to a snowboarder, and it's a cause that I really stand behind."
Though he makes his living on snow, Holland likes to spend much of his free time on water. Asked what he does when he's momentarily free from training obligations, he says, "Well, living in North Lake Tahoe, there's the lake in the summer, so I'm into all of the water sports. Swimming. Boating. Wakeboarding. Water skiing. Lake surfing." Holland used to teach wakeboarding and water skiing at a water skiing school (and still occasionally teaches, which helps him get access to a boat). He also likes riding mountain bikes, dirt bikes and fly fishing.
Born in Sandpoint, Idaho, Holland was into skateboarding and skiing when he was younger and decided to try snowboarding when he saw it in movies. His favorite snowboarding movie was Critical Condition, much of which was filmed at Squaw Valley, California. Holland came to idolize Shawn Farmer and Damian Sanders, who starred in the film. Holland is now based at Squaw Valley himself.
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