About Snowskating
What is Snowskating
Snowskating has a shared history with snowboarding and the desire of surfers and skateboarders to ride the snow. Today, there are two popular styles of snowskating, single deck and bi-deck. A single deck snowskate is like a skateboard deck ridden directly on the snow. A bi-deck snowskate is a skateboard deck elevated on pivoting "trucks" over a single short "ski". The bi-deck snowskate has metal edges and a retention strap connecting the skate to the rider. They can be ridden similar to a snowboard.
What is snowskating.org?
Snowskating.org is a website by Glenn Mathewson, for support and promotion of snowskating. Glenn experienced a foot injury in 2020 that left him unable to snowboard. He quickly discovered snowskating as a viable way to continue to enjoy snowsports. He then learned snowskating was not permitted at his family's favorite CO mountain, Loveland, because lift operation standards have not yet been updated to recognize the sport of bi-deck snowskating. As a professional in building codes and standards, he knows they are only changed when people speak up. This motivated him to create this website to help further normalize snowskating by providing information to people interested in the sport and to bring snowskaters together to help change the lift standard.
S.C.A.L.E
- Snowskate Council for Aerial Lift Equality -
Bi-deck snowskaters have spent decades working with ski resorts to allow them on lifts. However, the ANSI B77.1 standard for passenger ropeways (lifts) has not yet been updated to recognize snowskaters, and thus defaults them to "foot passengers". This designation is for passengers using lifts for nonsporting purposes, like lifts at amusement parks, and requires lifts to operate at a slower speed. For this reason, many resorts across the US do not allow bi-deck snowskates on their lifts. Glenn Mathewson believes snowskaters should be recognized in the standard as "skiers" alongside our ski and snowboard friends. He will be participating in the ANSI process to help achieve this recognition. For more information and to share your ideas in the Snowskate Council for Aerial Lift Equality see the contact form below.