This New England Mountain Was First in U.S to Allow Snowboarders

I am pretty new to the world of skiing and Winter sports in general. Nowadays, for the most part, skiers and snowboarders are able to coexist on the same mountain in peace and harmony. They share the same chairlifts, give each other space when needed, and respect each other's individual sports. At the end of the day we are all on the mountain for the same reason; to get in a good shred and hopefully enjoy some après ski apps and beverages. However, this has not always been the case.

The historic tension between skiers and snowboarders

Historically, snowboarders and skiers did not always see eye to eye. In the mid 80's when snowboarding was just becoming popular, they were not welcome at many ski resorts. They were viewed as the hooligans of the mountain who disrupted the ski culture and made the mountain a less safe place.

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Jake Burton Carpenter fought for snowboarders and their right to shred

Jake was a real homie. According to Burton.com, He founded Burton Snowboards where he initially built boards by hand in his Vermont barn. He focused on designing a snowboard that had the same edge control as a ski. He used this in his pitch to ski patrol at Stratton Mountain as he lobbied for the mountain to accept snowboarders.

In 1983 Stratton Mountain became the first major ski resort to allow snowboarders changing the landscape for snowboarders all across the country and even the world.

There is a sign that honors the godfather of snowboarding on Suntanner trail on Stratton Mountain:

After that, one by one more major resorts started allowing snowboarders to ride on their mountains. Another monumental moment was in 1985 when Vail in Colorado lifted their snowboarding ban.

If you are a snowboarded and ever get the chance to ride Stratton, make sure to take a moment during your run to thank the godfather of gnar himself, Jake Burton Carpenter. He left this earth in 2019 but he is certainly somewhere shredding fresh powder in the sky. I like to think he is looking down proudly at all of his boarding brothers and sisters.