20 Nov

The Fusion of Snowboarding and Surfing

Extreme sports enthusiasts are never happy with doing things the normal way. They are always looking to change the rules, push things a little further or invent something entirely new all together. Two incredibly successful and well-established sports are surfing and snowboarding, but these have been around for many years now and some people believe they could do with freshening up. It is no surprise then that one avid extreme sports fan gave in to curiosity and tried riding down the mountain side on his customised surfboard…and succeeded?

The sport of snow surfing is thought to have first been conceived in New Zealand when a visiting Australian surfer decided to see if he could ride his board on the white stuff.The sport was born, and others were quick to give it a go and allow this mad activity to keep on growing. Enthusiasts say that it requires a huge amount of skill and confidence. Unlike snowboards, riders do not have any bindings to attach themselves to the board, but instead rely on aggressive carving and the use of the hands to ensure that the board stays under their feet.Stopping the board at the end of a run is also not the easiest thing to do, which is why special run-off areas have been created at a number of resorts.

As with all emerging extreme sports, sponsors and industry brands have been paying close attention to see if it is worth their while getting involved. Apparently both Rip Curl and Burton have shown interest in the sport and have been following the most promising individuals. Due to the sport’s relative infancy though, it may be some time before we see it publicised in the mainstream media or any specialised equipment appear on the shelves of your local sports store. On the other hand, because the new sport has been embraced so well by both surf and snowboarding communities it could make it big faster than a lot of fledgling sports.

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