By John Stouffer

November 1, 1998

For the second year in a row, a group of Utah resort marketing directors visited TransWorld Media to remind us that the state's resorts are again embracing snowboarders for the upcoming season (with the continued exception of Alta and Deer Valley). This year, instead of just hanging out inside the office, the TransWorld people suggested the group meet at the beach, located five minutes away, and have a real "board meeting."

Not being from California, the Utah contingent didn't realize that a "board meeting" in So Cal requires swim trunks and surfboards, not the Power Point Pro presentation program, computers, and prepared reports.

With beautiful sunny skies, three-foot surf, and a good gathering, the meeting went well for both sides, except for one broken surfboard. The overall message: Utah resorts are once again open and tremendously supportive of snowboarding. The reply: The snowboarding magazines are more than ready to head to the hills of the Wasatch range, experience the greatest snow on earth, and pass the reports back to consumers around the world.

The resort managers say snowboarding is really coming into its own in Utah. According to Marketing Manager Clark Krause, Brian Head is averaging about 50-percent snowboarders all season, with up to 90-percent snowboarders on the slopes early season. The resort has also seen some impressive numbers at local contests. In one that offered both snowboarding and skiing competitions, 170 snowboarders showed up, while only twenty skiers entered. The story was similar from managers across the state.

All in all, the afternoon beach adventure left everyone psyched for the coming snow season, and a few surprised by the Utah resort employee's hard charging in the surf. Park City's Marketing Manager Jeff Boliba charged just a little too hard and ended up with a two piece surfboard. Although nobody expected him to pay for the borrowed and broken board, somebody at TransWorld will be looking for some first tracks at Park City this season to make up for it.

-John Stouffer�