This Is the Story of the Snurfer, the Precursor to the Snowboard

Anyone who’s ever strapped on a snowboard knows that Jake Burton Carpenter was instrumental in getting the sport off the ground. But he was absolutely influenced by Sherman Poppen, who in December of 1965 made history when he strapped a pair of skis together and sent his kids flying down a hill in Muskegon, Mich. That was the Snurfer. And this is the story of that historic tool that laid the groundwork for the massive sport that was to grow from those humble beginnings.