A friend of a friend told agr about a letter in the newest issue of the skiing magazine POWDER that we thought we would share. The person who penned the letter is referring to the marketing campaign where snowboarders were called on to “poach” the remaining skiers-only resorts.
Dear Jake Burton Carpenter,
On Behalf of all your upper class, white cutomers, i would like to thank you and your gian corporation for fighting the “fascist” depredations of four ski areas. Thanks for takin a break from making American Express ads to take on this massive source of human suffering and in justice.
A 5,000$ prize to any snowboarder who provides video documentation of poaching the four ski resorts that of last winter didnt allow snowboarding? That is impressive. I bet you make that much in 15 minutes of filming for your Hewlett-Packard commercials.
Trying to create division where there is none in order to keep your brand “anti establishment” reminds me of Chevron talking about all the great things they do for the enviroment: it’s self serving trash from the rich and powerful. Now that your monopolistic corporation has crushed all the small, rider-owned companies, its time to Fight the Man!
When you catagorize these cki resorts as “facist” your likening them to dictorial regimes that systematically exploit and murder people. Considering that snowboarders as a demographic are among the wealthiest, freest, most privelaged on the planet, and that your sport and your fortune wouldn’t exist without skiing, i think you can find a better cause. If you want to fight for human rights, start by moving all production out of china.
The arguement for your cause is the same time and agian: “It’s discriminatory! what if they didnt let black people ski there?”
This arguement, besides insulting anyone who has benn opressed due to race, gender, religion, etc.. is pathetically shallow. You’re as free to ski at Alta as anyone else. NO, you don’t get to take your board on the lift, but you cant play Frisbee golf at a golf course, either.
For the sake of brevity, let’s say you can have Deer Valley as far as i’m concerned. Taos needed the buisness and I support their decision. Mad river Glen is owned by a cooperative of shareholders that govers as a collective body. You want to ride at MRG, either by snowboard or toboggan? Buy a share and bring it up before the board.
Alta, on the other hand, is hallowed ground. It is the home and spiritual heart of powder skiing in America. Alta’s pioneers of avalanche science, men like Monty Atwater, Ed LaChappelke, and Svere Engen had their lives on the line daily while creating the avalanche protocol that allows all of us, including you, to ride safely. In fact, Atwater was wounded while fighting actual fascism in the Army’s 10th Mountain Division during World War II.
The ski vs. snowboard fued was always propogated by gapers on both sides. You’re ressurecting it now because you know that your company has become a mainstrem, corporate, static, conformist fashion show.
When the kids who’ve been lining your pocket cease feeling rebellious because they all look the same wearing your expensive products, Burton is smoked. And for the same reason that China would be better off without a brutal monolithic regime running the show, snowboarding might be better of without Burton.
- Hans Ludwig (via newschoolers.com) Ed. note: Don’t even think we made all the obvious spelling and grammar errors. We are super smart, ya’ dig?
Because that letter was so long that we didn’t even read it, we will spare you our response at the moment. But please feel free to discuss. Instead, we would like to share our new tattoo:
I agree with most of what you said about Burton ( corporate , mainstream , trying patheticlly to rebel “) But about the resorts ski/snowboard debate your way off . Your elitist comment (” either buy a snowboard or tobaggan “)puts you in the same category your trying to Burton in .
I also agree w/ the ( Burton/anti-establishment = Chevron/environment ) parallel, but when you say (” your sport..would’nt exist without skiing “)it’s like saying skateboarding would’nt exist w/out the concrete co. We know that SURFING spawned skate/snowboarding - NOT skiing!!
And since snowboarding has been in the game , skiing has been trying to copy every move. (shaped skis,angled sidewalls,twin tips ,what?) looks like these days -Your sport might not exist w/out snowboarding . Hans , Maybe you should go over to Alta and bust a rodeo,or underflip or some other trick that skiing ripped off of SNOWBOARDING.
quit being such a whiny bitch and just fucking have fun with your life…..boo hoo
It’s really too bad that you have to compensate for how boring skiing is by complaining about a snowboard company (not one that i think is worth a shit, but a snowboard company regardless) because they are trying to open areas that are living in the fucking dark by not letting snowboarders ride their resorts. If any, of these fucking cave dwellers that run these last two resorts think that they are going to make money by not letting snowboarders ride their resorts then they have not taken a simple business class that would teach them the fundamental basics of business. Why would you ride two planks when you could ride one?
I was told that Alta actually would fold, if it weren’t for the dollars that snowboarders bring into da Bird. Not sure, but that’s what I heard… They were dying, as were all ski areas, then we came the F along and saved them.
ps lol at “newschoolers.com”
pps f the police
lib techhhhhhhhhhhhh represent, shaun white can smoke a cock or three
i don’t need to remind you of the story of the guy who died after getting plowed by a horse, but i wonder if a unicorn would provide magical pleasure.
“Ed. note: Don’t even think we made all the obvious spelling and grammar errors. We are super smart, ya’ dig?”
Really? I would suggest picking up that particular issue of Powder and checking the print version. You may also care to note that this article doesn’t even exist on Powder’s website, so it’s my guess some kid typed it in his ownself. And poorly. And then you picked it up. Nice.
Umm… I’m calling out bullshit on this letter.
Hans, dude I’m sorry there aren’t any snowboard-only resorts that K2 will give you $5000 to poach.
I mean, $5000 is a hefty chunk of traveling/equipment/living money anybody would be jealous to see it just given away.
Oh and dude, when uneducated people shove as many big words from the thesaurus as they can find into a letter to seem smarter they only come out seeming way more retarded.
Then to try and cover it with how “super smart” you are… well you are a skier. We already know how smart you are.
well snowboarders and skiers can thank each other for certain aspects of both sports.
1) Skiing has been around longer so gained crowds that gave snowboarders sky lifts and terrain to ride.
2) From that snowboarders brought in terrain parks and freestyle design to skis-twin tips
3)Snowboarders also brought in sidecut, giving skis performance in and out of turns.
4) Snowboarders brought the bigger freestyle scene with jibs and jumps.
so this bickering is completely unneeded.
You watch these resorts will open up to snowboarders in the near future
Steve hit the fucking nail on the head. Who gives fuck? You wanna stop the poachers? Stop them then. Don’t fucking cry about it. Do it. Shoot ‘em, touch off an avi I don’t give a fuck.
Same goes for the poachers who shred on a board. If you wanna do it for five large then fucking do it. You wanna do it to piss of some gapers then fucking do it. Don’t fucking bitch about it afterwards when you get bit in the ass though.
Both sides need to quit with the tantrum and go fucking hit the snow or get the fuck off the mountain.
now now, the mans a legend who has changed the face of snowsport, guys quite frankly skiing sucks ive had more fun reading lavatory walls, snowboarding is an adrenaline filled fun sport and burton has brought the sport to where it is today , I think its rong that resorts ban snowboarding as at the end of the day we are all there to enjoy the mountain , we boarders just want to jump everything on the mountain.
get rid of the planks,
You are all a bunch of fags and douche bags! Hahahahaha
What does this dude have against fun?