No boards allowed: four resorts skiers-only

[Pat Donnelly]

<TABLE cellSpacing=5 cellPadding=5 width=550 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Aspen Daily News

</TD></TR><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" vAlign=top>No boards allowed: four resorts skiers-only

From the Associated Press -

Thu 12/29/2005 11:00PM

PARK CITY, Utah - A handful of winter playgrounds maintain that snow is for skiing - period.

While the ski industry has welcomed the evolution of snowboarding and the business boom it has brought over the last two decades, four U.S. resorts are sticking to a policy of ''skiers only.''

''When it comes right down to it, it's our guests who have the largest say in the determination,'' said Chuck English, director of mountain operations at Utah's Deer Valley.

Deer Valley is one of the four remaining U.S. resorts where trails sculpted from the mountains are reserved for skiers. Alta, southeast of Salt Lake City, New Mexico's Taos and Mad River Glen in Vermont are the others willing to turn away potential business because enough skiers seem to like it that way.

''The current situation finds us receiving so many positive letters and comments from guests because we don't allow snowboarding,'' English said. ''That's really why we continue with our policy the way it is.''

The policy: If you want to snowboard, go somewhere else. It's exclusive and not at all apologetic. And as long as there is a market of skiers who support it, change is unlikely.

''There were a lot more,'' Mad River Glen spokesman Eric Friedman said. ''Now you're left with the four holdouts.''

Theories abound about which resort will go next - if any does.

''I still put my money on it being a Utah resort that's the last one,'' said Dennis Nazari, founder of Salty Peaks snowboard shop on the eastern edge of Salt Lake City.

Nazari used to personally campaign from resort to resort in the 1980s and early 1990s for Utah ski areas to accept snowboarders. Now, it isn't much of an issue. Snowboarders don't have far to go from any of the skiers-only resorts, so the remaining four seem to have a niche in the industry.

''It makes me wonder. Maybe there is a place for a skier-only resort,'' Nazari said. ''But if there was a snowboard-only resort, how would that pan out with skiers?''

Snowboarding accounted for 28.7 percent of national lift ticket sales last season, said Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Areas Association in Lakewood, Colo.

Each resort has its own reasons for being exclusively for skiers. Deer Valley always has been skiers-only since opening above downtown Park City in 1981. And with Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons welcoming snowboarders just down the road, Deer Valley plans to keep its posh slopes to skiers, who are willing to pay the hefty lift ticket costs in exchange for things such as ski porters and tissue dispensers at the lift.

Taos, in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico, is celebrating its 50th anniversary - and is sticking to its ''pure skiing'' mantra.

''We see it as something that differentiates us from other ski areas,'' general manager Gordon Briner said.

At Alta, the decision to keep snowboards off the lifts in the early 1980s went largely unnoticed because the sport was still relatively new and there were very few people trying it, marketing director Connie Marshall said.

It has since developed into sort of a trademark for the resort, which has been around since 1938.

''We've been rewarded by our longtime skiers,'' Marshall said. ''We feel like it does give us an identity in the market.''

Mad River Glen's policy came more from spite. Snowboarders were allowed on the mountain, but couldn't use the classic single-chair lift, the only one that goes to the top of the mountain in central Vermont.

Friedman said the policy was broadened to keeping snowboarders out of the area altogether after former owner Betsy Pratt was confronted in a grocery store by a group of teens who wanted snowboarders to be able to ride the single-chair lift.

Friedman said the teens were hostile and called Pratt a name they shouldn't have.

''That was the end of snowboarding at Mad River Glen,'' Friedman said.

The policy stuck when the resort went co-op in 1995 and shareholders haven't come close to overturning it - even in Vermont, home of Burton snowboards.

The rift between skiers and snowboarders has subsided as snowboarding has grown in popularity and gained more acceptance. But the stereotype that snowboarders tend to be younger and more reckless still lingers - even though teenagers who took up the sport in the 1990s are now well into their 30s.

There are still, and probably always will be, skiers who prefer to have the mountain to themselves.

Kelly Dudek, a 32-year-old hair stylist from Las Vegas, was loading up her skis at Deer Valley one December afternoon and noted to a friend that they hadn't seen any snowboarders.

''Not that I don't like them. I have many friends that snowboard, but it's just different. A little more relaxing,'' Dudek said. ''If I was a snowboarder, I'd probably think differently.''

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[tex1230]

Fascists...

That drives me nuts as a boarder and a businessman. With the exception of deer valley, I'd bet these guys open to boarders in the next 5 years...It's pretty well known that the fastest growth in the winter sports arena in the past decade has been in snowboarding. Taos, Alta, and Mad River are losing out on family business by excluding boarders, and their close neighbors are reaping the rewards.

Deer Valley is the exception because it caters to such a high-end crowd...and a family can stay there and send the boarders to the next resort over...

I remember 15 tears ago when Alpine meadows wouldn't let us in either - and they were the last of the tahoe area resorts to cave in...(but there were days when we hiked in and poached it anyway )

[Jack M]

For now. I give them 20-30 years. By then the first generation snowboarders will be into their 60s, and I'll bet most of them will still be boarding. If snowboarding holds a majority among current teens and 20-somethings, in 20-30 years the skier-only resorts will starve. But the guy in Utah is kidding himself. MRG will be the last.

[bumpyride]

Who cares?

How many resorts in the US, and only 4 that don't allow boarders. Seems like a fair trade, and a guy should be able to patronize a business that caters to his likes and pocketbook. A business shouldn't be forced to alter what is successful for them unless it discriminates against the usual list (Race, Religion, Gender, Age, Sexual Orientation).

I see many beaches that don't allow surfing where people are swimmng, as well as some that allow boogeboards and not surfboards. Plenty of beaches, and plenty of Ski Resorts. Be happy you don't have to associate with the people that really don't want to be around you, and they don't have the only playground you can play in.

Boarders made their point years ago. If you don't allow them in, your business will suffer. Obviously it's the reverse for these resorts.

I see that in the eces has the slopes reserved for carving only. What's that all about? I would guess pretty much the same thing. (Well that and the safety factor-which still might be said for the ski only resorts, and yes for the preservation of the 1 piece Bogner Ski Suit).

Saying all that, I'd still love to Board Alta or Taos. Kind of like the Forbidden Fruit.

Speaking of those powder stashes, which I really wasn't, I'd like to give a plug for Granite Gear, for some of the best Snowboard Backpacks on the market. http://www.granitegear.com/ They have ultra light weight packs for carrying your board vertical, or horizontal, plus approach skis, shovel and ice axe loops. They're using the water repellant zips, which is another plus. Just got one for Christmas. 2lbs. 5 oz.

And for those of you who drink and drive a warnng.

http://www.badmash.org/videos/videos_flv.php?v=santa_cops384K_Stream.flv&t=Santa%20DUI

[Guest tdinardo]

<TABLE cellSpacing=5 cellPadding=5 width=550 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Aspen Daily News

</TD></TR><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" vAlign=top>No boards allowed: four resorts skiers-only

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I don't really have a problem with this. It's market economics. They are catering to a niche and that's fine. If they feel that their business can support that policy, more power to them. With the attitude of a lot of the park ridding crowd that I've experienced lately, I can see why they'd want to remain skier only. They are catering to the high-end crowd (the kind of boneheads that pay 5M for a house with a view of P.C.). There are probably enough ski snobs out there to support that for quite a while yet.

[Hugh]

So, we carvers strap on some shaped skis and rip and carve up the mountain. We can dig huge ruts all over the skiier only mtn...it will be fun

As far as Deer Valley being a special place, I've never skiied there. Snowbird, Alta, Brighton and Solitude are top notch resorts that I have skiied during the 80's, I never considered going to Deer Valley.

Taos on the other hand is a top notch resort that must be sampled

Hugh

[scotts.Scheinman]

So, I have a friend whos dad is a real estate developer or somthing like that in taos so he wqas talking about who they dont like snowboard. I emailed the manager of taos( ex manager of breckenridge) the most accepting place of snowboarding. He was like someday we might let snowboarders in. If you want to see it just let me know.

[LeeW]

For now. I give them 20-30 years. By then the first generation snowboarders will be into their 60s, and I'll bet most of them will still be boarding. If snowboarding holds a majority among current teens and 20-somethings, in 20-30 years the skier-only resorts will starve. But the guy in Utah is kidding himself. MRG will be the last.

Which generation are you referring to? according to NSAA's demograph, my generation, generation x, is not gonna be able to sustain the economic growth for the ski industry.

if i may add, that utah guy's u12 -- dennis.

[scotts.Scheinman]

i dont think mine will either. i dont think my generation can sustain alpine boarding.

[D-Sub]

doesnt bother me one bit. they have every right to do anything they want with their business, and anyone who tries to tell them differently is smokin somethin.

if someone wants to go "all boards" on their hill...great! let em.

fact is, either way youre missing out on income. any time a business restricts its clientele it is making a mistake, but no law or any group should be able to force that business to change its policies unless they are truly harmful to others.

[timinor]

Bumpyride said:

A business shouldn't be forced to alter what is successful for them unless it discriminates against the usual list (Race, Religion, Gender, Age, Sexual Orientation).

I agree and will go one further. I support Augusta National in maintaining a men only membership...and any "women only" club.

[D-Sub]

Bumpyride said:

I agree and will go one further. I support Augusta National in maintaining a men only membership...and any "women only" club.

absofrickinlutely! Augusta is a private golf course. Hell...you can go one step further and say they should be able to disallow anyone baced on race, personal preference, income, whatever!

its not ideal, not necessarily ethically correct, but passing laws to regulate such things is ridiculous.

that said...Id love to board alta :)

[timinor]

D-Sub said:

that said...Id love to board alta

That said...I'd love to play Augusta :)

[D-Sub]

D-Sub said:

That said...I'd love to play Augusta :)

its definitely beautiful, but at the same time its kinda fake...its like the disneyland of golf courses to me

Id rather play pebble (too expensive) or go back to Eagle Bend in Big Fork, MT. AWESOME course :)

we never talked about golf when riding, did we?

[philfell]

Alta in on National Forsest Land. The ski area is there for all to use since it's on public land, but the lifts are owned by Alta and they say who can use them.

On a different note if Deer Valley ever allowed snowboarding it would be a carving mecca. The runs are soooooooo good for arcing turns, it's truely a shame not to be able to ride there.

[RDY_2_Carve]

Free Taos!

I will be renting skates and riding Taos in January. Only reason is because I have a free lift ticket there...Should be quite a bit of carnage between me and my bro-in-law on snow-skates for the first time @ Taos!

Are mono-ski's considered ski's or snowboards? Think a person could get away with a Skwal as a "ski"?

[RDY_2_Carve]

Should be quite a bit of carnage between me and my bro-in-law on snow-skates for the first time @ Taos!

"Who's up for some double black diamond action?!?! Last one down is a coward!!!!"

;)

[philfell]

Bordy has ridden Deer Valley on a Skwal, they didn't quite know what to do so they let it go. I think he called it a monoboard so they were ok with it. You can use mono skies, tele boards ect.

[tilledog]

Alta is under a Forest service lease. You can hike on either side of the season. I've ridden Alta plenty on a board. I've also poached a handful of runs down through Alta Resort by hiking from the Snowbird Tram.

My personal belief is that these guys should let Alpine slide. And for the record, Park City offers Kleenex in the lift lines also.

Fight the Powa!!

[tilledog]

Oops,

Just read Phil's post.

Dave<<<<<<<<<<<Dumba$$

[Guest Randy S.]

I've skied 3 of the 4. Of them, I'd love to carve at Deer Valley. As Phil says, it would be a carving mecca. What corduroy. And Alta has such great steeps and powder, I wish it were open to us. MRG I don't care about. Even when I lived back east I didn't care. Its a POS resort. The only thing going for it are the glades. Taos is in New Mexico. Never been there, probably never will.

On a related note, has anyone ever tried riding the lifts with a split board set up as skis? Then you turn it back into a board at the top and carve away. In part I'd love a split Prior for just this reason. Just a thought...

[D-Sub]

someone did an article on that in TWS back in the 90s. splitboard...he got away with it for a little while but they caught on.

imagine an alpine only mountain! Id still want some jumps here and there but mostly just good groomers :)

[NateW]

This calls for a roll-up snowboard - something you can stash in a backpack. Then you press the magic button and SPROING! it becomes a carving machine. And of course you need roll-up skis so you can put those in your backpack for the ride down.

That would be almost as cool as Dial-A-Sidecut.

[scotts.Scheinman]

like a think lay of basicia ( the stuff they make thoes wood airplaes are made of) wood I think its called and laminate it. Magnetic bindings Rollable,light and effective.

[Phil]

But the guy in Utah is kidding himself. MRG will be the last.

If ever - seriously. Does anyone know any of the co-op owners? This generation of co-op owners will never let it happen.

I don't care about them or the other three. I think that it is fine. We choose to snowboard, they choose not to let us in - big deal.