Snowboarding History

When it comes to publicity, snowboarding is relatively new on the scene.  Though it’s earliest roots date back to the 1920’s when M.J. “Jack” Burchett fashioned a crude “snowboard” out of plywood, clotheslines and horse reins.

It wasn’t until 1965 that Sherman Poppen, from Muskegon, MI, used his engineering skills to bind a pair of skis together. He invention came to be called, “The Snurfer."

Since his idea was so popular with his daughter and other youth, he licensed his idea to a manufacturer. Seeing the great success that The Snurfer had when it was put on the market, many took on the challenge of inventing a new and better version of Poppen’s Snurfer.

Dimitrije Milovich, a surfer from the East coast, teamed up with Wayne Stovekin and took on the challenge of improving snowboard technology. Together, they invented a Ski-Surfboard hybrid. Since Stovekin was a skilled surfboard maker, their design was successful and they approached various ski companies to sell their latest product.

Further pursing his snowboarding dreams, Milovich moved to Utah and patented the “Swallowtail, “ which went on the market in 1972.

The first big year for snowboarding was quite recent. 
In 1977, a man named Tom Sims and his friend Chuck Barfoot started producing snowboards in Sims’ garage.  They are accredited with the creating the first snowboard as we know it today. Around the same time, Jake Burton Carpenter, founded his company Burton Boards. A fan of the Snurfer since childhood, he had spent much of his life modifying the design and his company is still successful today.

The snowboard started to receive mass media coverage in 1979 when Paul Graves was featured in a LaBatt’s beer commercial performing snowboarding stunts.

LaBatt's Bear Commercial Ft. Paul Graves, 1979

Paul Graves continued to make headway in publicizing the snowboard. He organized the first National Snowsurfing Championships in Woodstock, Vermont. Sports Illustrated, Good Morning America other media giants showed up to cover the event.

Vermont was a haven to snowboarders, as no other states allowed for a Snowboarding Park within their ski resorts; this remained true through much of the mid 80’s. 
Ski resorts claimed snowboards were a liability issue to their skiers. But the snowboards knew the truth: they were being discriminated against because of they way they looked. These younger skater types with crazy colored hair proved the resorts wrong when insurance companies admitted that they did cover snowboarders and snowboarding.

By 1990, almost all of the big resorts welcomed snowboards. Today, 98% of ski resorts build their slopes to be compatible for snowboarders.

Seen as a sport for someone that likes a little risk, the best place to snowboard in Duluth is Spirit Mountain. There are 22 downhill trails open to skiers and snowboards.

Duluth's Winter Weather Patters

Located on Lake Superior, Duluth experiences slightly different climate patterns than the rest of MN due to the Lake Effect.  This effect is especially prevalent during the wintertime and produces very large amounts of snow.  In fact, Lake Superior produces the greatest lake effect snows on earth.

This image shows Lake Effect Snow & the strong NW winds Duluth Experiences

A Lake Effect occurs when cold, arctic fronts travel over a warmer body of water.  The cold air picks up moisture from the lake and deposits it in the form of snow.  Believe it or not, the Lake effect also keeps the temperature milder during the winter months.  Unfortunately, since Duluth experiences strong NW winds during the wintertime, the warming effect of the lake is restricted.  This also means that much of the snow gets pushed on to Michigan’s UP and Northern Wisconsin.

You may think that Duluth dodged a bullet by so kindly gifting much of its snow to the neighbors; the city can still reach up to 170 inches of annual snow.

Between the months of December and February, Duluth is very susceptible to two types of winter snow fronts:

1.     Alberta Clippers

Alberta Clippers are also known as Canadian Clippers.  They are fast moving low-pressure fronts that tend to affect the upper parts of the Midwest and the Great Lakes Region.  They are named for their place of origin, Alberta Canada, and for clipper ships, the fastest ships of the 19^th century.

           

2.     Panhandle Hooks

These fronts are less frequent.  They develop in the SW United States between late fall early spring.  They travel NE towards the Great Lakes Region and have caused some of the most memorable and deadly blizzards in the Midwest.

Receiving at least 85 inches per year, Duluth has the highest average snowfall total of any city in Minnesota.

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