Mayflower would be missing out on an important part of snow culture. Photo: Jack Dawe
How is this still a thing? At the moment, just a few major American ski resorts prohibit snowboarders: Mad River Glen in Vermont, and Deer Valley and Alta, both in Utah.
That’s been true since at least 2009, when Taos, New Mexico finally allowed snowboarders on its slopes.
But a new agreement might add one more resort to the no-riding list: Utah’s soon-to-open Mayflower Mountain.
The upcoming resort may enter a partnership that taps Deer Valley Resort to manage the slopes, local publication Park Record reported. That would result in Deer Valley’s “no-snowboard” policy carrying over to the new area.
The topic came up during a Monday panel discussion about the ski industry held at the Park City, Utah library. When Todd Bennett, the president and chief operating officer at Deer Valley, said Mayflower Mountain would continue the ski-only policy, it drew applause from the audience, according to the Park Record article.
According to the promotional video below, Mayflower Mountain would be the first new North American ski resort since 1980, which wouldn’t be true by our account, given that Central Idaho’s Tamarack Resort was opened in the early 2000s. There are a number of other newer resorts as well, post 1980.
The snowboard debate is not new, and one we considered dead long ago. But arguments for banning snowboards seem to continue: they include safety, snow quality, traditions, and unsuitable terrain, according to On The Slopes, which actually created a guide to the exact policies at “no-ride” resorts.
At Vermont’s Mad River Glen, for example, snowboarders were first banned back in 1991. When a co-op took control of the mountain in 1995, about 75 percent of shareholders voted to maintain the ban, according to the resort’s website.
“We want to make clear that there is no animosity towards snowboarders, per se,” Mad River Glen says on its website. “The ski industry is very competitive and our Co-op owners believe that the snowboarding policy is the best course for the mountain.”
Snowboarders, of course, aren’t too pleased by the announcement that Mayflower Mountain will join the no-ride club.
When Out There Colorado reported this news, it quickly resulted in an intense debate in the comments section, with diverse opinions about why there continues to be a cultural divide between two very similar pastimes.
Amidst all the noise, a few commenters said a small handful of resorts banning snowboarding isn’t that big a deal, but it may cost them business.
“For families like mine, whose members prefer one or the other, it means we have three less ski areas to go to out of a few hundred,” a user named Diggs commented on March 29. “Pretty much the definition of a ‘nothingburger.'”
Mayflower Mountain is slated to open by winter 2024, according to Salt Lake Magazine. The article points to a potentially larger problem at the resort than a snowboard ban: the danger it won’t receive enough consistent snow.
While Utah has set big records for snowfall this season, a zoomed-out view of snowfall has investors worried, the article said. Without sufficient snow, no one can ride the mountain — regardless of what they have on their feet.
