Snow has yet to fall in Cambridge, but at the weekly meeting of Harvard University Snowboarding Club (HUSC), members are concerned with something other than the weather.

"This one is experimental," says Al Engelhart, referring not to a dazzling new trick but to a homemade fruit salad mixed with orange juice and Hershey's kisses.

Thursday nights in Loker 031 are a far cry from your typical Model Congress or French Club meeting. But it's obvious that HUSC is a far cry from your typical extra-curricular.

"[The club] is certainly about snowboarding, but it's also about hanging out with people," says Lynsay B. Skiba '00, one of the club's officers.

While watching a video of professional riders alternately pulling off spectacular moves and crashing into trees, the HUSC members talk lifts, trails and weather predictions. Along with questions like "Is sliding on rails really bad for your board?" members finalize plans for a trip to the annual Board-a-thon for Breast Cancer, which took place at Stratton Mountain yesterday.

After the discussion, Engelhart presents his weekly mini-lecture on aspects of the sport. Today's lesson: How to build a mountain.

"Bill Gates gave us a billion dollars--we're making a mountain from scratch." he says as he steps to the chalkboard.

After 20 minutes, the sketch on the chalkboard is a full-blown blueprint of the club's ideal boarding venue, complete with solar-powered lifts, a snowboarding park, Unix terminals (to check snow conditions, of course) and hot chocolate stands every 10 feet.

"Everybody's happy at Mt. HUSC," Engelhart says, satisfied.

HUSC members say the goal of the club is just that--making everyone happy by offering a warm environment for snowboarding enthusiasts and an outlet for stressed-out students.

There is no attendance policy for the Thursday night meetings or Sunday trips, and the only requirements are weekly dues for those who attend meetings and a $10 deposit to reserve space on a trip.

"I realized that it was a very good way to deal with the stress of

school," says Arvin T. Chang '00, the club's current president. "To physically and mentally get away from it all once a week, no problem sets, no essays, just fun in the snow."

As soon as the mountains open, HUSC begins organizing trips every Sunday to New England ski areas. The club also runs a popular intersession trip that attracted 80 people last year.

The club's trip to the Board-a-thon yesterday was about more than fun in the snow. Pledges collected by event participants will go to various charities that support breast cancer research.