Burton Boots

Burton Snowboards was founded in 1977 by Jake Burton. In the 1960's, he had been riding a department store toy that was much like a surfboard but for use on snow. Sherman Poppen's Snurfer, as it was called, was the earliest commercial form of the modern snowboard. Jake believed that surfing on snow could grow into something big, so he started the world's first snowboard factory in Londonderry, Vermont. In his second year of business he moved to a farmhouse in Manchester, Vermont which would eventually produce such classic snowboards as the Performer and the Backhill. He worked out of the barn, the basement, the living room and dining room. A group of 4 to 5 people produced, sold and repaired all the boards. Jake would answer the Burton toll-free customer service line in his bedroom at all hours. He would take orders for new boards from snowboarders all over the country at all hours of the night. At times when orders were low, he would load up his car and visit 10 shops per day selling his newest designs.

In the 1^st few years, the sport was underground and limited to sledding hills and snowy golf courses. In 1982, after much lobbying, Jake succeeded in persuading Suicide Six Resort in Pomfret, Vermont to become the first resort to allow snowboarding. Shortly after that, he convinced Vermont's Stratton Mountain. The snow at the resorts made for a different ride and the edgeless wooden boards were not going to cut it. Burton created the Performer Elite, with metal edges, to handle the hardpacked snow of the resorts. The success of the U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships, started in 1982, helped to legitimize the sport tremendously and build mountain resort acceptance. In 1992, Burton moved from Manchester to Burlington. Today, on the outskirts of Burlinton, Vermont, is the current location of Burton Snowboards, a company whose roots run deep in the history of snowboarding.