With things drawing to a close we all have different coping mechanisms to avoid a complete meltdown. Problems begin to arise; communication melts down, someone's laugh is grating, we all get inconsiderate and snappy. The men's team likes to play "crack your buddy," which basically involves doing anything to piss someone off, pushing buttons, etc. To an extent we deal with these things all season but at the end of the season we have less patience. By this time of the year we have spent 5 months of intense time together with few other outlets except each other. Things get tense while we are starting to think about summer, sleeping in our own beds, and seeing some other friends. To put it bluntly, we're sick of each other. It doesn't matter how much you like someone, after 5 months of being connected at the hip you are ready for a change of pace.

One of the ways to deal with the stress and tension we undergo during the season is to party. I'm sure it sounds strange for me to say it's an essential part of my training, but it is. It's true in all walks of life…it's easy to bond over beer. After a few beers people start dancing together, having a good time and maybe even having drunken, bonding, heart-to-heart talks. Despite a hangover we all feel better in the morning. At the beginning of the season we don't party much but once we hit our second trip to Europe we start to go off. Sometimes I feel like the more tension the better the party. Anton believes free booze equals a better party. I'm sure both have something to do with it.

Some of our better parties have included one or all of the guys on the team (plus staff) dressed in drag, Anton half-naked and drenched head to toe in beer, the girls' team in wigs and pleather, and lots of Euro dance music.

I'm not sure how many other athletes' party like we do. I know athletes in other sports that party like rock stars but I don't know what is the norm. Maybe partying is the nature of competitive people or athletes in general. I like to believe that despite the Olympics being a goal for most competitive snowboarders we haven't totally lost sight of where we've come from, the rebellious, party-at-all-cost roots of our sport that Shawn Palmer and others made famous. Or maybe partying is just the nature of the sport and the people it attracts. We have coaches and a few athletes who don't come from a snowboard background but party harder then anyone. I guess that's just one of the amazing things about snowboarding. It doesn't matter where you come from, if you're attracted to this sport chances are you are fun, young spirited, don't take yourself too seriously and like to have a good time.

I don't want to paint a picture that the US Snowboard Team or snowboarders in general party all the time and aren't serious. The truth is quite the opposite; we are serious about our sport, our training, results, and being the best. Not only do we love to balance out all of the seriousness with some fun, it's also a necessity to staying sane and doing well.

— Lisa Kosglow, MountainZone.com Correspondent