My climbing partner told me recently that a crazy kid attempted to
snowboarded down Mount Everest? Who was he and did he survive?

Dear Matwade, 

I was surprised as you are, and would probably be if you'd heard that
since 2000, numerous people have tried to snowboard down Mt. Everest.

"There have been 15 ski descents from Everest before, but only one
complete - from summit to BC: On October 7, 2000 Davo Karnicar skied
down from the summit on Everest south side. Hans Kammerlander skied
down the north side in May 1996, but his descent was from 7800m and
not complete. "
(SOURCE: Mt. Everest, "Everest Viking skier update: Search for Tomas
Olsson difficult, veterans say",
<http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=2040>).

Of them, "Marco Siffredi snowboarded down the Norton Couloir in 2001,
after summitting through the normal route with Himex. Only one year
later, on September 8, 2002 Marco attempted a snowboard descent of the
steep Hornbein Couloir. He arrived at the summit at approximately 2:00
p.m. and waited for about an hour for the clouds to dissipate before
starting on his way down. Teammate Olivier Besson watched Siffredi
through a telescope at Advanced Base Camp. At about 3:30 p.m.,
Siffredi slipped from view and was never seen nor heard from again. "
(ibid). He was only 23. :-(

[Also see: 
Sarah Smith, "Everest Snowboarder Vanishes On Second Try", National
Geographic, <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0927_020927_siffredi.html>).

Stephen Koch, another famed snowboarder, has also wanted to snowboard
the mountain, but gave up - according to Koch, this mission would be
too dangerous.
Facing the Fall Line
http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200403/stephen_koch_snowboarding_everest_1.html

I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it. My search term:
[snowboarded down Mount Everest] etc.

Evidently your friend was correct:

Everest Snowboarder Vanishes On Second Try
Sarah Smith
National Geographic Adventure magazine

"September 27, 2002
It was a cold, clear afternoon on September 9 when French snowboarder
Marco Siffredi stood 29,035 feet (8,849 meters) above sea level atop
the summit of Mount Everest, marking his second successful ascent of
the mountain in just over a year. Last May, the 23-year-old had made
the first-ever snowboard descent from the world's highest summit along
the Great, or Norton Couloir, a corridor above the North Col, in the
middle of the North face. He rode roughly 17,500 feet (5,300 meters)
down before reaching Base Camp."

More information here:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0927_020927_siffredi.html

Have a good day.

Thank you for the rating!