Snowboarding in Southern Vermont: From Burton to the US Open

by Brian L. Knight

Overview

During the 1980s and 1990s, the "Manchester and the Mountains" area of Vermont was the epicenter of the fledgling sport of snowboarding. With the presence of Burton Snowboards, the U.S. Open Championships and one of the earliest machine-built halfpipes at Stratton Mountain, the local population led the vanguard as the sport ventured from the fringe to mainstream. Ranging from Olympic gold medalists to backhoe operators and converted skiers, locals contributed immensely to the development of the sport. Author Brian Knight details the birth, growth and development of a new worldwide sport from humble beginnings in southern Vermont.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467139250
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	11/26/2018
Series:	Sports
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Brian Knight is a self-employed historic preservation consultant and architectural historian. He works throughout Vermont preserving the state's cultural resources and built environment. His first book, No Braver Deeds, chronicled the Equinox Guards, Company E, 5th Vermont, in the Civil War. While working for Stratton in the 1980s and early 1990s, writing for a local magazine in the late 1990s and then teaching at history at the Stratton Mountain School, he has been an objective observer of snowboarding in southwest Vermont. He presently lives in Dorset, Vermont.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 11

Introduction 13

1 Trial and Error: Jake Burton Carpenter Nurtures a Fledgling Sport 17

2 Acceptance: Snowboarding Arrives at the Ski Areas 39

3 Growth: Snowboarding Organizes and Expands 57

4 Mainstream: Snowboarding Leaves the Fringe 73

5 Burton Corporation: Burton Expands from a Barn Operation to Global Leader 87

6 Progression: Snowboarders and Their Craft 107

7 Party Time: The Other Side of Snowboarding 117

8 Growing Pains 147

Epilogue 151

Notes 167

Index 183

About the Author 191