The History of Skiing
As you carve across the mountain enjoying the fresh snow, do you ever wonder where this all began? Who invented Snowboarding and opened up this world of possibilities for us all? From humble beginnings and DIY equipment to a rebellious niche trend and then a worldwide winter sporting phenomenon, snowboarding has had an incredible journey to become a mainstream sport.
Once banned from most ski resorts, snowboarders were seen as risk-taking rebels, but they can now happily share slopes across the world with their skiing friends. We’ve learned about the history of skiing, so now let’s take a closer look at the history of snowboarding and how it has evolved over the years.
WHO INVENTED SNOWBOARDING?
Well, that’s a tricky one! Like a lot of sports, it is thought that there were early forms of snowboarding happening long before it was recognised as a sport. Perhaps it was the Austrian miners in the 1800s who stood on wooden longboards with handlebars to get down the mountain after a hard day at work, or maybe it all started with teenagers in the 1900s who rode standing up on modified sledges.
SHERMAN POPPEN
Some argue that the history of snowboarding dates back to 1965 with the invention of a toy by Sherman Poppen. Poppen fastened two skis together and attached a rope so his daughters could stand on the board and glide along the snow as if they were surfing. His wife came up with the name ‘snurfer’ by combining the words snow and surfer, and Poppen licensed the idea to the Brunswick Corporation for manufacture. Over half a million ‘snurfers’ were sold in 1966 alone, with around a million in total being sold over the following decade.
Jacob Burton
In the 1970s, after spending time trying to modify a snurfer by adding fins and foot straps to increase stability, Jacob Burton founded ‘Burton Snowboards’. His passion grew and he was constantly looking to improve his boards, later developing a flexible wood-planked prototype. His modifications worked, and combined with his exceptional passion and skill on the slopes he won a National Snurfing Contest in 1979, as the only entrant in a category set up for riders with modified boards.
Tom Sims
Interest in surfing and skiboarding started to grow in the skateboarding community, and a young skateboarder called Tom Sims developed a ‘skiboard’. He fastened together a plank of pine, carpet, and some aluminium, then added candle wax underneath the board to help it slide across the snow. He went on to start his company, ‘Sims Snowboards’ in 1976 and won the World Snowboarding Championships in 1983.
Snowboarding as a sport
Travelling down a mountain on a single board rather than two skis attracted different people to the slopes. Competitions like the National Surfing Championships marked what is accepted to be the start of snowboarding as a competitive and recreational sport. Races were similar to skiing, challenging people to be the fastest across the finish line, but they gradually developed other disciplines in which riders would compete to perform the most impressive tricks.
However, many skiing resorts would not allow snowboarders on their slopes, suggesting that it was too dangerous and that snowboarding enthusiasts were rude, uncooperative, and upsetting their skiing clientele. Banned from most resorts in the world, snowboarders would climb the mountain after dark to avoid being caught, which is probably why snowboarding was thought to attract rebels, rule breakers and non-conformists.
An alternative culture began to develop, and snowboarding became a cool, edgy, fashionable sport that was eventually accepted onto the slopes, marking a revival of interest in snow sports in general. Then, when snowboarding appeared in the James Bond film “A View to a Kill” in 1995 it propelled the sport into the mainstream and triggered a huge rise in the number of people wanting to learn.
The Winter Olympics
In 1998, snowboarding was officially recognised by the Olympic Committee and was included in the Winter Olympic Games in Japan. Initially, a programme of just four events was met with a mixed reception, but it captured the imagination of the world, as by the next games in Utah in 2002, it was one of the most watched sports in America. Fast-forward to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and new snowboarding events were added, including parallel slalom and slopestyle.
The Winter X Games is another big event in the snowboarding calendar, running once a year the Games showcase some of the most impressive skills and tricks of athletes from across the world.
Styles of snowboarding
Much like we discussed in our article about the history of skiing, the development of snowboarding equipment also allowed the sport itself to change, by offering more flexibility for faster speeds and more elaborate tricks. This evolution has created different styles and disciplines of snowboarding, each with unique features in terms of equipment, environment, and technique. It’s a sport with endless possibilities, whether you want to go fast, jump high, do the most impressive tricks, or just explore the mountain.
Alpine snowboarding
Alpine style is incredibly important in the history of snowboarding and was the original snowboarding discipline that featured in the 1998 Winter Olympics. Inspired by Alpine Skiing, it involves travelling downhill using a series of links turning manoeuvres and little to no jumping, similar to surfing or waterskiing.
The boards used are relatively long, narrow and rigid, to enable riders to reach higher speeds and make tighter turns. Boots are similar to ski boots, with a rigid shell and bindings attaching them to the board.
Freeriding
This style of snowboarding has no rules and runs without a set course, encouraging spontaneity over unprepared terrain. Freeriders enjoy the opportunity to explore the landscape, by using their skills and letting the mountain guide them. Freeriding boards are longer and stiffer to allow the rider to tackle a range of conditions.
Freestyle snowboarding
This creative form of snowboarding uses natural and man-made features to perform tricks and jumps. Freestyle snowboarding is hugely popular with riders looking for freedom, creativity, and thrills on the slopes.
Jibbing
Jibbing involves snowboarding on unnatural surfaces, whether that’s a metal rail, bench or wall, and even cars or buildings. This style is heavily influenced by skateboarding, and winter resorts with designated jibbing zones are becoming more popular, especially as an alternative to using features in towns and villages without permission. Jib boards tend to be shorter and softer than snowboards used in other disciplines, so riders can move around as easily as possible.
Slopestyle
Snowboarding slopestyle involves travelling down a course and performing tricks on different features in a combination of alpine and freestyle boarding. As a sport, slopestyle is judged based on the tricks performed, the execution, difficulty, and style of the run. Difficult lines and tricks, unusual approaches and error-free runs are scored highly, encouraging slopestyle snowboarders to push to their limit to beat the competition.
Big Air
As the name would suggest, Big Air snowboarding involves performing tricks and reaching huge heights in the air. Competitions have goals based on height, distance, tricks, and landing as cleanly as possible. These events are visually spectacular and take place on huge ramps, usually constructed specifically for the event.
Half-pipe
A half-pipe is a semi-circular cutting in the snow that can be made with walls up to 22 feet high. Half-pipe snowboarding involves travelling from one side of the pipe to the other, performing tricks at each side and making as much use of the length of the run as possible. This is another very popular spectator sport that attracts huge crowds. The half-pipe has even been adopted as a skiing discipline too.
Snowboard racing
This discipline involves riders travelling down a hill, whilst passing through a series of coloured turning markers or gates. Riders must pass each gate on the correct side and reach the bottom of the course as quickly as possible. Races are run in different formats, with either a single rider on the track, two tracks side by side, or multiple riders on the same track.
Snowboard Cross
In snowboard cross, riders race down a course together at the same time, navigating jumps, turns and obstacles to try and cross the finish line in first place. Also known as Boardercross, Snowboard X or Boarder X, it was first included at the Winter Olympics in 2006 and proved to be a big hit with the crowds.
Which will you choose?
In the history of snowboarding, there has often been a perceived divide between skiers and snowboarders. You can read more about the differences between the sports and what attracts people to them, in our article, “Skiing vs Snowboarding”. We recommend trying both and seeing which you enjoy the most but remember, you don’t have to choose between them. Some people like to split their time on the slopes between skiing and snowboarding, to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Hitting the slopes with your snowboard
Perhaps reading about the history of snowboarding has inspired you to book your next trip to the slopes. Our customers trust our convenient and reliable private transfers and shared transfers to get them to their destinations in comfort. We offer ski and snowboard transfers from the airport, so you can be off your flight and onto the mountain as quickly as possible.
Simply contact us today and we’ll take care of the logistics. Our experienced drivers will get you and your board to some of Europe’s most popular resorts, including Morzine, Val Thorens, Tignes, Les Gets and Verbier to name but a few.
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