A Modern History of Snowboarding: Part 2
Last week we spelled out a rough history of snowboarding from 1996-2005 and now we pick up where we left off. Snowboarding is flying high through the 2000’s and shits about to get really, really tech. Again, this is by no means a complete history of everything relevant or important that happened, rather the stuff we or the Internet remembers best. Please feel free to add the things we missed or argue because you have nothing better to do.
2006
2006. Snowboard cross makes its Olympic debut and Lindsay Jacobellis secures her infamy falling on a grasser and blowing certain gold.
2006. Shaun White has an “undefeated season” and is on the cover of Rolling Stone. From this point forward, he is what regular people think of when they hear “snowboarding.”
2006. Mervin introduces Banana Camber, starting the war with Never Summer, who claim they did it first. We’re not choosing sides, since reverse camber was first done by Inca Snowboards in 1996.
2006. David Benedek does the first double cork in a contest at 2006 6Star Air & Style Munich. JP Walker did it first.
2007. Terje shatters Ingemar’s high air record at the Arctic Challenge, going 9.8m off a quarter pipe with a backside 360.
2007. Burton encourages people to poach, offering a $5000 prize for a video of poaching one of the resorts that still doesn’t allow.
2007. Taos opens its doors to snowboarding. Only three resorts now do not allow snowboarding.
2007. 1080s in every different direction are a must if you’re a competitive snowboarder. And people manage to land them pretty much every time.
2007. Lance and Mike Hakker start Ashbury, and the hipster movement gains serious steam in snowboarding.
2008. Snowboarding equipment is a $487 million industry.
2008. That’s it, That’s All comes out and is on the next level for snowboard videos. It doesn’t hurt that Travis Rice does the first double cork 1260. Basically, everyone agrees he’s insane.
2008. The North Face Masters of Snowboarding brings a return to competitive big mountain snowboarding.
2008. After sitting more or less dormant for years, Yobeat is revitalized when Nick Lipton shows up on our doorstep and refuses to write about wakeskating.
2008/2009. Camber, Rocker whatever. Everyone gets in on the action.
2009. Kevin Pearce crashes and suffers a TBI training for the Olympics. Snowboarding safety is called into question by “experts” like Christine Brennan.
2009. People in snowboarding really start paying attention to the Internet. Some love it, some hate it, and most realize this is going to change everything.
2009. Videograss drops it’s self-named “Videograss.” Hipsters and rail junkies rejoice over not having to fast-forward through any parts.
2009. Double corks are common place in the halfpipe. Since halfpipes now measure 22’, most sane people just give up their Olympic dreams.
2009. Louie Vito was on Dancing with the Stars. While it’s not really relevant to snowboard history, it’s a a fun fact none-the-less.
2010. SIA Moves to Denver. The trade show becomes remarkably less fun, even if it is a lot “closer to the mountains.”
2010. Torstein Horgmo does the first triple cork. It’s all downhill, and really dizzy, from here.
2010. Burton Closes the BMC and replaces it with “Craig’s,” an R & D Facility to make up for the fact they get all their snowboards from China like everyone else now.
2010. Vancouver Olympics. Scotty Lago keeps it real for snowboarding, leaving the Olympic village early after some scandalous photos of him and his medal surface.
2011
2011. Pat Burgener does the first switch backside triple cork, and we’re pretty tired of counting rotations.
2011. The much acclaimed Art of Flight is released and we can generally agree That’s it, That’s all was better.
2012. There are 8.2 million snowboarders in the USA, a 10% increase over the previous season, accounting for more than 30% of all snow sports participants.
2011. Splitboarding, which has been around since the mid 90s, begins to grow in popularity. Brands add split boards to their lines and bros everywhere start talking about “going splitboarding” instead of “snowboarding.”
2011. Bryan Fox and Austin Smith start writing Drink Water on their snowboards. The movement grows and soon they’re selling lots of $60 sweatshirts.
2012. David Benedek releases this three-year book project, Current State snowboarding and the news is in: Snowboarding is just fine.
2012. Jed Anderson’s drops a hell of a part straight to the Internet, and while the purists may complain, the online video part is a trend that’s only looking to grow.
2012. Snowboard pioneer Tom Sims passes away on Sept. 12, 2012.
2012. Burton pulls the plug on Forum, Foursquare and Special Blend, and also nixes RED, moving its helmet proram under the Anon umbrella.
2013. It’s the year of the Banked Slalom. Mt. Baker’s legendary one turns 30, and every podunk hill from Washington to NH holds its own banked race.
2013. For the first time in 30 years, the US Open is held somewhere other than VT. Vail, Colorado to be exact.
2013. The Elan Factory, manufacturer of many brands, closes, but is saved from certain death by CAPiTA.
And that brings us to now… What does the future hold? Well, you’re gonna have to wait another 18 years or so to find out.
but what about when ____(insert snowboarding event I think should have made it)___ happened?!
Fact Check on those double corks…
JP did his (fs 900) in Shakedown-2003
Travis did one (fs 1080) in Absinthe’s POP-2004
David Benedek learned them in 2005 (91 words for snow)
Travis never did a double cork 1260 in That’s it That’s all. He did do all 4 rotations of 1080 though, along with a double rodeo 1080 and a crazy triple attempt that they didn’t try and cheat with an alternate landing shot… Which they did a few times in the art of flight, bastards.
Get your head out of your asses Chodebeat! I did the first double cork. In the back country. Ask Andy Wright. He has the photo to prove it!
Drink Water made the list? Why? How stupid.
i fucking love that jacobellis video. timeless.
^^ but when will you learn to read^^
You’re an idiot, there wasn’t any triples in the art of flight… watch it again fuckin skier
Jed’s online part was amazing, as was Louif’s, but the problem with the online release is they’re way more forgettable. It’s the same thing with music. That’s why I buy DVDs and CDs. Jed’s part is one of my favourites ever, but that’s the first time I’ve watched it since 2012. In the same time I’ve watched Enlighten 10 times.
i would say a good 3/4 is just incorrect
The Program brands were aquired in 2004 actually…
^^^^
Damn, many of you are bigger snowboard dorks than I am to know all that shit….I don’t know whether to applaud you or feel sorry for the fact that you haven’t discovered these great creatures called women yet….
death of the drop in ramp.
Nick Lipton makes the list but I don’t!? This list is horse shit!
Any yobeat post that is longer then 2 paragraphs there is a 99% chance that there are going to be gramar errors and facts that are straight wrong
Longer than*
Grammar*
Touché
Burton Family Tree boards are made is Austria btw
Hey, I just bought one of those $60 sweaters. D
I just bought one of those $60 sweaters. Worth it…
Drink Water is garbage. Just drink water, don’t fuckin advertise it
Capita didn’t save it, they just leased out the factory for a few months to finish production 😉
You write up the lease?
THESE FREE PEOPLE OF PRECIPITOUS ELEVATIONS REMAIN UP IN ARMS OVER MISSED POWDER DAYS & FIRST TRAM RIDES……THOSE WHOM CAN JUST BARELY UNDERSTAND WHY THEY ARE THE WAY THEY ARE…… GIFTED WITH THE GIFTS OF THIS TEMPORARY FROSTY GRANDEUR OF FLUFFY COLD WATER.
HOWEVER.
PERHAPS EXACTLY ALL OF THESE PLACES LEFT IN QUESTION WERE MOST LIKELY DESIGNED BY AGING ALPSIAN SKIERS FROM THE BYGONE ERAS OF THE 30s, 40s,50s,60s,70s, and 80s…….
WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR SNOWBOARDERS TO GET CURRENTLY AND FUTURISTICALLY HIPPED UP TO THE BIG PICTURE AND START REMAKING THEIR OWN UNTOUCHED MOUNTAINS THAT ARE OUT THERE WITHIN REACH? WHY AND WHAT ARE ALL OF US WAITING AROUND FOR? WHY CAN’T REBUILD THE POSSIBILITIES IN SOME NEW RANGE OF WAYS MORE SURREAL?
GET UP, GET OUT, AND DO SOMETHING. CAUSE YOU AND I GOTS TO DO FOR YOU AND I.
whether you like it or not lucas magoon changed snowboarding and there was no discussion on the whole technine wave that lasted and had everybody rockin tall t’s and face rags. lucas magoon started a massive influence and forever changed the style of snowboarding blunt swivels and overall style like nothing before people were obsessed like the type of influence JP had a decade prior and jed Anderson who you mentioned (following nima, mikey leblanc, darrell maths, kooley, Jordan mendethal- holden/ love/hate) was a previous style just a steroided out good version of it..