“On December 25th, 1965, amidst the blustery winds and sand dunes of Muskegon, Michigan, Sherman Poppen made history by strapping two skis together and sending his young daughter careening down his backyard hill. His invention, soon dubbed the Snurfer, laid the foundation for snowboarding as we know it.”
Part of me wishes we had stuck with the term Snurfing rather than snowboarding. Kinda fun to say, not too serious, reminds me little blue cartoon characters but I digress. This is the story of Sherman Robert Poppen and his development of the proto-snowboarding sport of Snurfing.
Poppen got the idea for The Snurfer from a lifelong desire to surf but was stuck in Michigan with underwhelming lake swells. He realized that a nearby sand dune would work as a “winter wave” and got to work on The Snurfer design. His wife, Nancy, named the invention because the board allowed the rider to surf on snow.
If you are a proud snowboarding Michigander you hang your hat on the sport getting its origins in your home state. Cheers!
images from pintrest