History of the "board" and the sport...

To say who actually invented the sport of snowboarding would be impossible because people have always loved to slide down a snow-covered hill. Soaring through the snow on some kind of seat or board is nothing new. The ways to enjoy the snow are numerous, and people have devised ways to turn garbage can lids and cardboard into “snow boards” to enjoy an afternoon frolic outdoors. The various ways to glide through snow have become more sophisticated and have evolved into using polished boards or skis in much the same manner, as a surfboarder would ride a wave.

Snowboarding's history shows many influences, such as surfing, skateboarding, snurfing, and skiing. Its roots may even be traced back to the early 1920's. Then children built what would now be considered makeshift snowboards out of barrel staves and rode them sideways down a snowy hill.  Late in the 1950’s a mix of surfers, skateboarders, and skiers began to transfer their skills to the mountains. Boarders during that time used hand-made custom boards made out of shaped wood laminates.  There were many attempts at developing a modern snowboard. In 1965, the “Snurfer” (a word play on ‘snow’ and ‘surfer’) was developed as a child’s toy. Two skis were bound together and a rope was placed at the front end to afford control and stability. Over 500,000 “Snurfers” were sold in 1966 but they were never seen as more than a child's plaything even though organized competitions began to take place. The year 1969 brought a slightly more sophisticated snowboard based on the principles of skiing combined with surfboard styling. The “Flying Yellow Banana” was developed in 1977. This was nothing more than a plastic shell covered with a top surface like that of a skateboard, but at the time it was considered a major advance in the still little known sport of snowboarding.

The sport began to be taken seriously when Jake Burton Carpenter from his garage workshop in Manchester, Vt. started turning out snowboards using the newest materials and techniques used by the top ski manufactures.   Jake had a vision: to bring snowboarding to the world. At first he began shaping snowboards in the mid 70's out of wood, and fixing rubber straps on them for bindings. This vision evolved as more and more boarders gave feedback and developed boarding styles.  Soon Burton was introducing boards made out of composite materials and designed for different styles of riding.

As the sport began to gain more popularity in the late 1970s and ‘80s, and snowboarding equipment became more sophisticated and advanced. Snowboarding continued to increase in popularity over the next several years. Fans began to organize regional events and pretty soon snowboarding events were held in all parts of the world. Many skiers still largely frowned upon the sport because snowboarding was new and crude at that time and there was entrenched skiers superiority at the time. There was a general belief that is not safe to allow both boarders and skiers on the safe hills.  In fact, most ski resorts would not allow snowboarding well into the 90’s. By 1997, almost all of the ski resorts in the United States allowed snowboarding. As it turned out, there was no real effect in safety with mixing skiers and snowboarders.