Burton Snowboards - MorningCalm December 2017

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ENJOYING THE RIDE

Since 1977, Burton Snowboards has carved out a space for snowboarding on the slopes, and the brand’s continued commitment to the sport ensures that it will stay at the top for years to come.

“We were always the naughty child,” says Jake Burton, founder of Burton Snowboards. Travel back three decades, and it was difficult to find a US ski resort that would allow snowboarders on its pistes. Snowboarding didn’t make its Olympic debut until 1998. Today there are about 2.4 million active snowboarders in the US alone, and Burton has been a driving force behind the sport’s mountainous growth. “We had to fight and create our own autonomy to get on those mountains,” Burton says. “But as a result of that endeavor, we’ve always kept a sense of irreverence — because that’s kind of what’s in our DNA.”

There’s not a hint of irreverence when it comes to the company’s love of the mountains. Burton doesn’t
just sell snowboards; it invests in spreading a passion for snowboarding. In 1998, the company spearheaded a program called Learn to Ride that, working with over 190 resorts worldwide, provides lessons to snowboarders
of all skill levels. It’s a program that helps people ride the way they want. Burton firmly believes that there’s
no wrong way to snowboard. “What’s unique about snowboarders, whether it’s Shaun White or others, is that they’re all individuals and they’re all having fun,” says Burton. “They all have smiles on their faces.”

This focus on both fun and individualism guides Burton’s research and development. Recently,
it introduced a strapless binding system called Step On that makes securing boots into the snowboard faster and simpler. It took about five years for the company to perfect Step On, and it’s an innovation Jake Burton is especially proud of, because he believes comfort and convenience are key to enjoying the sport to the fullest.

The company’s line of boards includes a range of shapes and features that provide versatility and freedom for every kind of rider. Burton’s personal favorite is called The Philosopher. “It’s got a really great freestyle ability, but at the same time it’s a board that rides really well on powder,” he says. “I love its personality.” There are plenty of personalities to choose from in the lineup, like the Free Thinker, which emulates the wildly creative style of Danny Davis, famous for his inventive half-pipe runs.

Despite the diversity of Burton’s snowboards, the process of putting one together, called layup, always begins with the base, cut from an aluminum mold. Central to Burton’s boards are their wood cores, some of which are constructed with up to 500 vertically laminated pieces of wood. The rapid prototyping system available at the company’s research and development facility, Craig’s, can create a new prototype in just a single day, and the production version can be ready in as little as five months. In reality, it often takes longer than that, as all boards and bindings have to be quality-assured and rigorously tested; Step On went through thousands of hours of tests in the field and validation inside Burton’s labs.

And for Burton, making better boards also means taking a deeper look at the impact its products have on the world. Largely under the leadership of CEO Donna Carpenter, the company has gone to great lengths to reduce waste as much as possible. It’s an effort crucial to the company’s survival. “What sport is more affected by global warming than snowboarding?” Burton asks.

The company also continuously encourages more women to take part in the sport, creating female-specific equipment and sponsoring female riders. In 2004, Donna Carpenter formed the Women’s Leadership Initiative at Burton to offer mentoring and help more women advance to leadership positions within the company. It goes to show that, for Burton, creating the best end product isn’t the only thing that matters; how you get there is crucial too.

And of course, it’s important to enjoy that journey. “The riders out there now really understand the importance
of having fun. They’re not trying to make it anything more than that — or anything less,” says Burton. The company’s bold, daring spirit seems to guarantee that it’ll continue to lift snowboarding to new heights. “Maybe my pioneering is done,” Burton muses. “But I like to think I’m the guardian of the sport.”