Vintage boards and classic terrain greeted the riders who took part in the Tahoe Legends of Snowboarding event on Saturday, March 15 at Donner Ski Ranch.
Skyler Steranko popped to his feet after tumbling through the powdery chop at the base of the Face. Regaining his bearings after the crash, the Donner Summit snowboarder fishtailed his way to the hip jump, then flung his 1987 K2 Gyrator over his head for a textbook backflip.
Steranko was 5 years old when the snowboard was made. The snowboarders competing alongside him — Tom Burt, Jim and Bonnie Zellers, Rocket Reeves and Mike Basich, to name a few — were already seasoned veterans, having pioneered the sport before Steranko was born.
Their contribution was not lost on the young rider. Nor was the significance of the place that helped kick-start the nascent sport.
“I love this comp,” Steranko said of Saturday’s Tahoe Legends of Snowboarding contest at Donner Ski Ranch. “You get to see all the old riders out here. And this place is legendary, for sure.”
The event — officially named the Tahoe Legends of Snowboarding and Vintage Snowboard Moguls World Championships — brought out 14 legends and three brave souls from the public. To compete, all had to ride boards of an erstwhile era — pre-1993, to be exact.
Burt, a longtime Tahoe local and premier big-mountain snowboarder who lives in Kings Beach, rode his 1988 Avalanche. He also sported hot pink pants and a 1986-’87 Donner Ski Ranch season pass around his neck.
He, like everyone else involved with the event, was there to pay homage to the first California resort to sell a lift ticket to a snowboarder. That was 1980.
“Donner Ski Ranch was one of the first resorts to really embrace snowboarding,” Burt said as he waited to drop into his line on the lower Face, the rocky pitch that dominates the view from the parking lot, also called the Palisades.
“Back then it was the place,” Burt continued. “It had a little of everything as far as terrain. And they used to let us build jumps way before there were parks. You couldn’t do things like that anywhere else.”
Jim Zellers, another forefather of the sport who rode a board circa 1986 on Sunday, said he began snowboarding in the Castle Peak backcountry in 1978. By 1982, he was riding at Donner Ski Ranch as well as Soda Springs and Slide Mountain, which later became Mt. Rose. As far as the Tahoe Legends contest, he said there’s no better resort to host the event than Donner Ski Ranch.
“We couldn’t do it any other place. No place has the history the Ranch has,” said Zellers, who competed with wife Bonnie and young son Dylan, who rode a retro board once used by his dad. “Plus, it’s like a mini Squaw — it’s got everything you want.”
Jeffrey Grell, who rode a 1989 Sims, said he tries to make it to the Tahoe Legends contest each year. Saturday’s event could not have featured better conditions, he said, as about 8 inches of fresh snow filled in the nooks and crannies of the mountain.
“It’s been a great morning, nice powder,” said Grell, who started snowboarding on a Snurfer in 1968 and perhaps is best known for inventing a boot cuff, or strap device, in the early 80s called Hibaks, which is similar to the modern binding. “It’s much better than I expected. These old boards are perfect for the conditions, with their short tails.”
After each rider took two runs, with some opting for the more wide-open slope to the east of the Palisades and others taking on icy chutes of the main face, the group of old-schoolers crowded into the upstairs of the Donner Ski Ranch lodge. There, Don Bostick from WCS Snowboarding — one of the event organizers — announced the winners of the contest. But not before a handful of riders from the original clique took the mic to give credit to the three honorees: Burt and both Zellers.
When everyone had their say, Bostick announced Burt as the winner. Mike Basich was awarded second, followed by Johansen, Bob Klein and Jim Zellers. In the public division, Steranko took the top spot, followed by Dylan Zellers and Mimi Land.
“It’s a lot of fun to see all the people who brought snowboarding to us today,” said Land, a native of France who now lives in Tahoe City. “This competition is really about the soul of snowboarding, because everyone is here to have fun.”
Once the awards ceremony was complete, Klein’s band, Chunks of Metal, featuring old-school snowboarders Terry Kidwell and Shawn Farmer, rocked the stage as the riders settled in with beers in hand.
Results Legends
1. Tom Burt 2. Mike Basich 3. Pauly Johansen 4. Bob Klein 5. Jim Zellers 6. Ishi Hara 7. Keith Kimmel 8. Rocket Reeves 9. Tina Basich 10. Andy Berendsen
Public 1. Skyler Steranko 2. Dylan Zellers 3. Mimi Land
A tough road to acceptance In 1985, only 39 of about 600 resorts nationwide allowed snowboarding.
By the late 1980s, most Tahoe resorts had ended their resistance, but it wasn’t until the winter of 1995-96 that Alpine Meadows lifted its ban on snowboarders. Donner Ski Ranch reportedly was the first resort in the state to sell a lift ticket to a snowboarder.
“It was in 1980 and a guy with a snowboard came up to my office and asked if he could buy a lift ticket,” said Norm Sayler, former owner of Donner Ski Ranch. “I told him ‘Yeah, go downstairs and buy one.’ And he told me that they wouldn’t sell him one. So I called up the lift ticket person and that person said, ‘He’s got a snowboard.’ And I said ‘He’s got $10. Sell him a ticket. I want that money.’”
While the modern beginnings of the snowboard took shape in the late 1970s, the first real ski technology was applied to the snowboard in 1980. That’s when Jake Burton applied P-Tex and other modifications similar to that of a ski to his snowboards.
— Info from Tahoe World News Service
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“I love this comp,” Steranko said of Saturday’s Tahoe Legends of Snowboarding contest at Donner Ski Ranch. “You get to see all the old riders out here. And this place is legendary, for sure.”
“Back then it was the place,” Burt continued. “It had a little of everything as far as terrain. And they used to let us build jumps way before there were parks. You couldn’t do things like that anywhere else.”
