God Bless Burton for making some of the bestest ever snow gear.
I got tons of his stuff.
RIP
RIP. Out of respect for Mr. Carpenter, I’ll hold back on snowboarder jokes , every other time one almost runs into me on my skis, this upcoming season.
Conservative, liberal - don’t care. He made something cool and sold it to everyone - having to fight the system in the process (which probably means he was at least libertarian)
I own one of his jackets! I’ll never part with the thing. Super comfy, lightweight and WARM. I found it for a song at a Thrift store, but knew I was getting a many-hundreds of dollars coat for $10.
My son wore it until he outgrew it (and after a snowboarding concussion, he finally gave up the sport - Thank Goodness) and I then snagged it for my own. Great for barn chores and snow shoveling - really cuts the wind.
RIP, Mr. Burton Carpenter. :)
I remember watching him demo his new gadget in Vermont. I thought it was a pretty cool idea but would prove to be a fad. I the next time I saw him demoing was out at Brighton Utah. Soon after, the resort opened to snowboarders and became a haven. The other resorts soon followed.
Long before Burton most of the kids in Vermont were using snurfers - with the staples for your feet and a rope in the front. Interesting that the inventor of the snurfer is now in the snowboard hall of fame. I still have my 53 year old snurfer.
How about we skiers who have had to dodge all the stoned boarders for the last couple of decades? Thankfully, we still have Alta.
4L8r
Rest in Peace...
To the man who’s acolytes have ploughed more snow off the tops of mountains, flattened more moguls, and threatened more skiers than any avalanche.