Snurfer
The Snurfer was the first snowboard to be marketed . It was created in 1965 by the American Sherman Poppen. Snurfer is a suitcase word from the English snow (snow) and surfer , which refers to the constructive and sportive influence of the snowboard by surfing ("surfing").
precursor
The first forerunners of today's snowboards were developed as early as 1900 and 1929: the mono glider by the Austrian Toni Lenhardt and the laminated binder technology by the American Jack Burchett. The "snowboard feeling" and the driving technique go back to two surfers from the USA, namely Sherman Poppen and Tom Sims . In 1963 they experimented with old doors and mounted foot straps on large wooden boards in order to develop a feeling for surfing on snow .
Invention and development
Poppen was out sledding with his daughters when his 11-year-old daughter was riding down the slope, standing on the sled. Poppen ran into his shop, got two skis and tied them together at the tips. His wife called the device Snurfer , a mixture of the languages between snow and surfer .
Soon after the first prototype, everyone wanted one on their street. Poppen licensed his concept from Brunswick Corporation to manufacture the Snurfer. In the years 1966–1976 Poppen sold approximately one million snurfers.
Until the 1980s, the unconventional “snurfers” were by no means welcome in most ski areas . On the one hand, the young people were rarely financially strong; on the other hand, the ski lifts and slopes were hardly suitable for the new winter sports equipment and skiing techniques. For both reasons, snowboarders often had to climb the ski slopes on foot, and some only skied on the groomed slopes at night. So it came about that the snurfer - whose sports equipment now makes up a good part of the ski industry - for example in 1985 in the USA were only welcome guests in 7% of all ski areas.