Although there are many conflicting stories about “who” was the true pioneer of snowboarding, there are some facts that remain constant throughout every history article you read. Here’s a brief overview of the key moments in time that helped propel the snowboarding movement to where it is today.
1929: MJ “Jack” Burchett used a clothesline to secure his feet to a piece of plywood while tying on the horse’s reins to control direction as he slid across the snow.
1963: With over 30 years to go between the first attempt at snowboarding and the next breakthrough, this year is credited to a man named Tom Sims. Tom, an eighth grader at the time, built what he called a “ski board” for his shop class. Again, it was made of plywood, hence the apt name with board.
1965: Two years after the introduction of the “ski board,” Sherman Poppen created “The Snurfer.” This consisted of two skis bolted together. Although Poppen originally made this a toy for his children, he later organized events to compete with the Snurfer.
1970s – This was the decade when snowboarding finally built its solid foundation, literally. In 1970, an East Coast surfer named Dimitrije Milovich came up with the idea of developing snowboards that felt like surfing but lacked the mechanics of skiing. Five years later, Milovich and his “Winterstick” snowboard were featured in Newsweek magazine.
A now well known name, Jake Burton, began using steam bent wood and fiberglass to construct his boards. Towards the end of the ’70s, Burton even went so far as to add steel edging to the sides and more supportive bindings for more control.
1980: Skiing aided in the development of snowboards by unknowingly planting the idea of using a P-Tex base in the minds of snowboard manufacturers Burton and Winterstick.
1982: The first international snowboarding race was in Vermont in the Suicide Six. They did a run called “The Face.”
Mid 1980s: This time period was a difficult one for the up and coming snowboarding community. With more than 600 ski resorts, only 39 allow these “snow surfers”. That gave snowboarders less than ten percent in the selection process as to where they could ride.
1997: As in time, everything changes. The snowboarder ban had almost come to an abrupt end. The new sport was now accepted almost as well as skiing throughout the world.
Today: Snowboarding is growing at such an alarming rate that skiers in the United States are down 25 percent. The number of direct snowboarders has increased 77% in the US alone, making it the fastest growing winter sport. Today about 20% of people who visit US ski resorts are snowboarders. If you’ve been lately, it seems like many more. However, projections for 2015 favor snowboarding as there will be more people snowboarding than skiing.
