Carpenter ’ s team would also embark on stealthy-late night missions at Bromley and Stratton , hiking up under cover of darkness and testing new board models while evading the watch of diligent nighttime patrolmen . After spending long periods of time cultivating relationships with local ski patrol officers and ski-lift operators , they were occasionally granted use of the lifts at closing time at Bromley . Through these covert riding sessions , they were able to further develop and perfect their board models through a process of active research and development based on real-time feedback from riders in the field . They would then use the feedback of the riders to create better boards in their manufacturing center , which was located in a barn behind Carpenter ’ s residence in Manchester .
The early manufacturing process for Burton ’ s snowboards was both complex and somewhat perilous . After the boards were cut , shaped , and sanded , they were dipped in a vat of urethane . The “ dippers ” working at the Burton manufacturing facility were outfitted with air compressors , which limited their respiratory exposure . Sometimes the boards would get caught and jammed in the wood routing machine on the main production floor . Pressure would build up and shoot the boards through the walls of the workshop . Over time , the process was improved , and Carpenter and his team developed fruitful relationships with both domestic and international distributors .
At the same time that they were growing the reach of their business , the Burton allow snowboarders to ride their lifts . In 1983 , Carpenter was given the opportunity to showcase the potential of snowboarding to the ski patrol staff at Stratton . During the demonstration , Stratton ’ s Director of Operations , Paul “ P . J .”
Johnston , came along to indulge his curiosity . After Johnston came face-to-face with Carpenter and his crew , he became a staunch advocate and ally for their snowboarding campaign . Johnston recruited his fellow Stratton employees to try the snowboards for themselves . Following a successful testing period , Johnston met with Stratton ’ s Board of Directors . Despite their initial skepticism , Johnston unilaterally pressed forward with his advocacy efforts , and in 1983 , he awarded Carpenter and his team a probationary trial period at Stratton .
After the approval , Carpenter and his team wasted no time in developing a rigorous certification process for aspiring snowboarders . The multi-tiered certification system at Stratton served two important functions : it both minimized potential liability by training visiting snowboarders in safety and etiquette , and it also incentivized snowboarders to develop their skills to attain the highest levels of certification .
In the initial years following the Board ’ s decision to allow snowboarding at Stratton , a noticeable cultural divide began to emerge between the skiers and the snowboarders . Skiers complained that the snowboarders were ruining the surface texture of the snow by carving it up , and attempted to curb the influx of snowboarders by designating certain tracks and wooded areas as “ off-limits ” to them .
Throughout this time of cultural clash , Carpenter went above and beyond to preserve the sanctity and professionalism of his sport through both his personal interactions with students and boarders and the development of the snowboard instruction program . When the dynamic self-taught duo of Mike and Steve Hayes bucked the certification system and started riding the Stratton lifts without the approval of Carpenter ’ s team , Carpenter confronted them head on and made sure that they passed their tests . Carpenter was known for giving spirited pep talks to his students and instructors , which were said to be peppered with a potent mixture of scolding admonitions and rallying encouragements . Although the Hayes brothers were not the only talented snowboarders who were reluctant to conform to the structural normalcy of the testing procedure , the unified cohesion of the Stratton snowboarding movement helped to solidify snowboarding ’ s reputation during a crucial period of growth and expansion .
In 1985 , the National Snow Surfing Championships were moved to Stratton Mountain , and were renamed the U . S . Open Snowboarding Championships . In the years that followed , the U . S . Open Snowboarding Championships continued to flourish , drawing hordes of spectators to Stratton mountain . As the championships began to gain international traction in the snowboarding community , the slalom racing events that had dominated the early years were gradually overshadowed by the surging popularity of the half-pipe events . Throughout the 1990s , the championships became increasingly packed and rowdy , and were subsequently moved to the “ Sun Bowl ” section of the mountain to prevent tension between the rambunctious crowds of spectators and the families who were coming to ski at Stratton .
Ultimately , Burton Snowboards moved its main base of operations to Burlington in 1992 . This relocation coincided with the rapid ascent of snowboarding to the pinnacle of cultural relevancy , and also the beginning of Vermont ’ s snowboarding renaissance . In the 1990s , Stratton
“ Snow surfing ” was once a controversial niche sport that was forbidden at nearly all mainstream ski resorts .
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