My Snowboarding Online

By snwbrdr960 on Jan 9, 2009 | Reply

Neversummer, ride, k2, salomon
Did you know that the first of the snowboards goes back all the way to 1929? Back then they has skis, but the first person to come up with the idea of a snowboard was a man named M.J. Jack Burchett. He cut out a plank of plywood and tried to stick his feet to the wood with the help of some clothes and horse reins. It was over 30 years after Burchett that the next step was taken towards the evolution of snowboards. In 1965, Sherman Poppen, a chemical gases engineer in Muskegon invented the “The Snurfer”. The name was given by his wife. He came up with the “The Snurfer” in order to entertain his daughter. He made the Snurfer by putting two skis together and putting a rope at the nose so that the rider could hold it and keep it stable. Many of his friends were interested in this Snurfer and that inspired him into licensing his idea to a manufacturer. The Snurfer sold over half a million in 1966 but was only seen as a toy for kids, not something serious enough for adult entertainment. Poppen organized competitions in order to make the Snurfer even more poppular. Jake Burton was really into the Snurfer and participated in the competitions organized by Poppen. Since Burton’s parents wouldn’t buy him a board and let him surf, he amused himself with the Snurfer. He was also very into skiing alongside the Snurfer, but he broke his collarbone in a car accident and couldn’t participate in ski competitions anymore. Meanwhile, a college student, \Dimitrije Milovich started making snowboards in 1969. He came up with the idea after sliding down with a cafeteria plate in College. He started his own company in 1972 with the name “Winterstick”. He got reviewed on Newsweek and Playboy, which increased the popularity of snowboards. Although he left the business in 1980, he is still recognised as one of the most important pioneers in developing snowboards. In 1977, Burton, after graduating from NYU moved to Vermont and started producing new versions of the Snurfer which he still remembered from childhood. He came up with the first binding and he amazed people when he won the Snurfer competition with his very own board with the bindings on it.