Rev. Neil Elliot - complete with waterproof
vestments.

There's a number of examples of PhDs getting involved with snowboarding particularly as it relates to engineering and physics, but this is the first time we've seen a crossover into the existential realm.

Last week the Vancouver Sun reported news about an Anglican priest who'd been living in British Columbia that earned a PhD in "Snowboarding Spirituality."

The Rev. Neil Elliot of St. Andrew Anglican Church began his study 10 years ago by combining a love of snowboarding and a seeking to compare the high riders get with a spiritual sensibility.

Based at Red Mountain in the Kootenays Neil took to the term "soulriding" in identifying snowboarders that articulated their on-hill experiences with a spiritual twist.

Observing and interviewing 35 snowboarders Neil attempted to understand those that identified feeling "the flow" of riding which often equated to an out of body experience.

"It's the first PhD in snowboarding at all, so it's pretty unique," said Elliot. "It gave me an excuse to get out and participate in a sport I love and it provided me with a framework to examine human spirituality."

Now we're all for the notion of escaping the daily grind by grinding some rails or blasting some pow turns, but the idea that snowboarding offers a fast track to the Pearly Gates seems like a stretch.

Considering the study took place in BC's Kootenay interior it's more likely that the "out of body" experience described by locals had more to do with earth grown sources vs. transcendental support from Heaven.

Then again, Jesus's first miracle was turning water into wine in a the desert of Palestine. Perhaps if he were born in the mountains of western Canada, Christ's apostles would have been just as happy with some organic hydroponics.