Who Invented Snowboarding?

Snowboarding earned its official documented roots back in the mid 1960s. While many people relate the name Jake Burton to the invention of snowboarding, snowboarding's origin came before Burton. The invention of snowboarding is really a shared title, as a lot of the early development of the sport was done simultaneously by several different individuals and companies.

History

Although there are some accounts of makeshift, stand-up boards being used to traverse down snow-covered hills as early as the 1920s, the first official snowboard design is attributed to Sherman Poppen, who created the Snurfer in 1965. Originally designed for his daughter, Poppen created the concept by simply attaching two skis together. The Snurfer (snow surfer) went on to become the first mass-produced, stand-up board used to ride snow. It was a primitive board much shorter than modern snowboards. The Snurfer did not have bindings, instead using a rope to help guide the board's movement. The Snurfer was more similar to inexpensive plastic snowboards available at toy stores than today's snowboard. Recently developed noboards use a design that combines the Snurfer with modern snowboard technology.

Time Frame

The next major step toward modern snowboarding came in the early 70s. Dimitrije Milovich and New Jersey surfboard designer Wayne Stoveken began working on designs for a snow surfboard. Milovich ran with the idea and moved from New York to Utah to further develop his snowboard design in the Wasatch Mountains. In 1972 he unveiled the Swallowtail, which included structure and design resembling today's modern boards. His snowboards were featured in magazines like Newsweek and Playboy. He began manufacturing boards in his garage for a core group of friends and interested buyers. In 1976 he founded Winterstick, which still produces boards today.

Prevention/Solution

Jake Burton began Snurfing in the mid-60s. He modified the Snurfer for years and eventually decided to try designing his own snowboards. He moved from New York to Londonderry, VT and began crafting boards in his barn in 1977. With a small crew, he began selling his boards to riders all over the country. Burton's boards were fine tuned to include more and more of the performance features we see today: p-tex base, metal edges and high back bindings. Burton went on to dominate the market and is the world's largest snowboarding company.

Geography

In addition to designing some of the first snowboards, Burton was simultaneously lobbying local resorts in Vermont to allow snowboarding and Suicide Six became the first to allow it in 1982. Other resorts like Stratton followed suit. This played a huge role in transforming the sport from a small, low-profile sport practiced on local hills and backwoods runs to the major sport it is today.

Identification

Three other early pioneers of snowboarding were Tom Sims, Bob Webber and Chuck Barfoot. Sims was a professional skateboarder. Like Burton, Sims began his role in snowboard development by tweaking the Snurfer. In 1977 he and Bob Webber came out with the "Yellow Banana" skiboard crafted from polyethelene. Sims became another leading snowboard manufacturer and still exists today. Barfoot, who worked for Sims, designed the first fiberglass snowboard and later went on to form his own company, Barfoot.

Features

Another important development in snowboarding was the introduction of the high back binding which is still the standard today. This came about in 1983 when Jeff Grell designed the high back for Flite Snowboards, another early innovator in snowboarding history. Another early snowboarding designer, Louis Fornier, is also credited with design of the high back.

Resources

• Winterstick