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What is Snowboarding?

Snowboarding is a relatively new sport which can be visually compared to skateboarding and surfing except done on snow. The rider stands on the board with his/her left or right foot forward, facing one side of the board. The feet are attached to the board via high-back or plate bindings which are non-realisable. Although there is at least one manufacturer of realisable bindings, they are not widely used. The sport is distinct from monoskiing. In monoskiing both feet are side by side on a single ski and the skier faces forward.

Some sports which have overlap in skills to snowboarding include: skurfing, skateboarding, surfing, water skiing and certainly snow skiing.

A person is said to be goofy footed if they stand with their right foot forward, and natural footed if their left foot is forward. It is widely accepted that Goofy Footers are more co-ordinated :) .

Extreme snowboarding involves making your own way from the top of a mountain to the bottom using only your snowboard. In the process spectacular jumps and free falls are often undertaken. 15 - 20 metre drops are not unusual. To get to the top of the mountain the pros usually get a lift from a helicopter, while the not so fortunate have been known to cross country ski up to the top with their snow board strapped to their back.

What is the history of Snowboarding?

Snowboarding became popular only in the last 10 years. It was pioneered in the late 70's by a small group including Jake Burton Carpenter, Chuck Barfoot, and Tom Sims. Most of these pioneers now have their own snowboard companies, with Jake Burton's company (Burton) being the largest snowboard manufacturer in the world. All of the early pioneers were heavily influenced by surfboarding.

The roots really start with the snurfer, that sled hill toy you may have ridden as a kid, shaped like a small water ski with a rope tied to the nose and a rough surface for traction from the centre to the back where you stood. Sherman Poppin was the inventor of the snurfer which first appeared in the 1960s. As it turns out Jake Burton was involved in snurfer racing, a gag event put on by a group of bored college students. Well, he got the bright idea to put a foot retention device (little more than a strap at first) on his boards and began to win these events hands down. At about this same time several other people were busy inventing the sport. Jeff Grell is credited with designing the first highback binding. Demetre Malovich started Winterstick, which didn't make it financially. He introduced several important factors early on in the sport like swallowtail designs, and laminated construction.

Boots evolved from Sorels (TM) or Sno-pac type boots. Early "snowboard" boots were Sorel shells with ski boot type bladders. It was obvious that these early boots did not supply adequate support for the ankle and inhibited control of the boards. The first hard-shell "snowboard" boots were in fact ski boots. It didn't take long for the first true hard-shell boot to be produced before the end of the eighties.

Burton set up shop at Stratton Mountain in Vermont and by 1985 had incorporated steel edges and high-back bindings into his designs. The metal edges allowed use at regular ski resorts and the rest is hiss-toe-ree. In 1985 only 7 percent of U.S. ski areas allowed snowboards; today more than 97 percent do and over half have half pipes.

Snow Boarding Pics
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