Outdoor Central Oregon January/February 2020 | Page 33

JAN/FEB 2020
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P: Hubert Schrieble
How could Jake not be a mentor. Jake probably taught more people all over this planet
how to snowboard than any other person in history. People looked up to Jake because
he was approachable and would teach anybody from a small child, a celebrity, an older
person, or just anybody who wanted to learn. Jake was a mentor at work, in the Stowe
community, and all over the world. National Snowboarding Championships. The next year Stratton Mountain agreed to host
and Jake, being a big tennis player (even instructor), changed the name to the US Open
Snowboarding Championships (after the US Open Tennis in Flushing Meadows). Stratton
hosted from 1985 until 2013. 28 years of madness, debauchery, tons of fun and friends,
family, smiles, concerts, and even death. (yes, death but that’s for my book).
Friday Program - giving back
When I moved to Stowe in 1996 I had not clue what the “Friday Program” was. Coming
from New Jersey something like this just didn’t exist. The Friday program wasn’t started
by Jake, It was running since the 50’s. Every Friday during the winter months, kids at all
the Stowe schools would get out at noon and go shred (other sports were available too,
like Nordic skiing and ice skating, just to name a few). Other Vermont school districts
had similar programs as this was part of the winter culture in Vermont. Of course Jake
and Donna got heavily involved as soon as they moved to Stowe. Not to promote Burton,
but to give back to the sport they loved. If the Carpenter’s were in town on Fridays they
would be snowboarding with a group of kids. I ran into Donna when I first arrived in Stowe
and she asked me If I would become one of the instructors. There was a one day on-hill
course you could take and you were in. Most people did it for the pass which included
Friday with the kids and Sunday on your own if you wished. I always had my pass covered
but this was also a way for me to give back to the sport I love. The Friday program was
only $75 per child and way a way to get many kids on the mountain affordably. I became
a Friday Program instructor for the next 14 years. Huge crowds came out each March to see the sport’s progression in riding, venue builds,
parties, concerts and style. One year, the first place prize in pipe was $40,000 (same for
women). Some years, between pipe, slope, rail, auto prize, and the season’s ISF bonuses
a few snowboarders walked way with $175,000 in cash and prizes, not including sponsor
contest winning compensation. The US Open became the world’s most famous snow-
boarding competition and best prize purse in the world. At first the X-Games payout was
total junk until the snowboarders got together and told ESPN pay up or we won’t come.
Then the Nagano Olympics in 1998 and snowboarding commercialisation was on a all
time high.
CHILL - giving back on a large scale
The Chill program was started by Jake and Donna Carpenter in 1995. Chill is a non-profit
based in Burlington, Vermont at the Burton World headquarters. In a nutshell, Chill is a
program to bring inner city kids out to the mountains to enjoy a day of snowboarding.
The program is all over the country in “snow” regions. It’s free, includes all the equip-
ment, instructors, transportation, and runs all winter. Over the years, Chill has served over
25,000 young people and approximately 1,900 per year. Giving back on a large scale, has
changed lives and inspired youth.
US Open - it was like a yearly family reunion (on steroids)
The Open has a special place in my heart. It was my New Year’s Eve but on steroids.
There is so much snowboarding history in the 30ish years of the Open I could write a
book about it. Paul Graves started the Snow Surfing Championships in 1983 at Suicide
Six Ski Area in Vermont (opened in 1934 and still in operation). The next year, in 1984,
Jake took, stole, or moved, (depending on who you talk to) the event to Snow Valley
Ski Area (opened in 1939, now defunct) near Manchester, Vermont. It was called the
The US Open moved to Vail. When I move to Bend eight years ago I drove all the way to
Colorado (with Pocha) to see what the new Open would be like in Vail. The venues were
incredible, but for me the event lost the history it had in Vermont and the feeling of a fam-
ily reunion. The feel was just like Dew Tour or Xgames but at least it is run by snowboard-
ers for snowboarders. I never went back.
Entrepreneur - It was kinda like winning the lottery but a lot more work
Jake Burton’s drive to build a sport was unrelenting. His desire to keep improving the
product Burton put out each year was second to none. To survive in an ever-changing
winter sports industry, Burton had to diversify. There were many ups and downs. Burton
launched a full line of street wear, sneakers, goggles, tuning equipment, travel bags, and
opened a few Burton-themed retail shops in America and around the world. At one point,
Burton acquired other successful snowboard brands (Forum, Foursquare, and Special
Blend) and ran them for a while but in the end shut them down. Burton even bought
Channel Island Surfboard Company based in California in 2006. Burton became the
largest snowboarding company in the world by far. Jake and Donna spent a lot of time
building the brand all over the world.
Lasting legacy - I kept saying to myself, “Jake Burton is not supposed to die”, but
legends never die
Jake Burton Carpenter’s legacy is settled. His wife Donna is Co-CEO of Burton and his
three boys have been snowboarding their whole lives and have been involved in the busi-
ness. First and foremost they will keep the candle burning for Jake as long as they live.