User:Swmo/Snowboarding History

History of Snowboarding
It is debatable who invented snowboarding. If snowboarding is defined as sliding down a snow covered slope on a board while standing sideways, then several people as early as 1929 claim its invention.

As a commercial venture the founding father is widely recognised as Sherman Poppen who successfully marketed the Snurfer in 1965 as a childs toy. A Michigan engineer, he fixed two skis together for his daughter. His wife came up with the name - a combination of snow and surf - and he later went on to sell over one million Snurfers. The snurfer was slightly different from a modern snowboard. It had a rope attached to the front for the rider to hold on to and did not have metal edges or bindings.

However, the modern era of snowboarding started when Jake Burton, Dimitrije Milovich and Tom Sims all released similar products in the late 70s which were developed independantly. Jake Burton in particular was a huge fan of the Snurfer and entered many Snurfer competitions with increasingly modified Snurfers. These pioneers went on to found Burton, Winterstick and Sims respectively. In 1980, Burton and Winterstick both released the first boards with a P-Tex base. Only Burton survives today in its original form and has over 70% of snowboard market share.

Originally, snowboards were not allowed at most ski resorts. They did not have metal edges and were very hard to control on the packed snow of groomed pistes. Consequently they were originally used off-piste on local hills. Dips, natural pipes and jumps were the only terrain available, and quickly this became an essensial part of snowboarding. Before snowboarding, skiers had never dreamed of riding rails or a half pipe. This spawned a new type of skiing called New School, where skiers also use rails, kickers and pipes.

By the mid-eighties, ski resorts across the US were opening their doors to snowboarders and building terrain parks. Today, only four resorts in the world still refuse to allow snowboarders, all of them in the US. These are; Alta, Deer Valley, Taos and Mad River Glen.