SIEGEL: Jane Lindholm reports from Vermont Public Radio.
JANE LINDHOLM: Unidentified Man #1: Until snowboarders everywhere are free to ride where they want to ride, until the snow on the slopes of this great nation have been purged of the scourge of segregation, until the four elitist fascist resorts lift their draconian ban, there should be no rest, no justice and no peace.
LINDHOLM: Burton is offering a $5,000 purse for the best videos of snowboarders poaching the four skier-only resorts in the country. It's a publicity stunt, sure. But Nate Bosshard, brand manager at Burton's says there's a more serious issue at stake.
NATE BOSSHARD: At a certain level, this is discrimination. It's the way people go down a hill, are they going forward or are they going sideways?
LINDHOLM: Skiers don't all like at it that way.
JOAN YOUNG: I think the snowboarders ought to get a life.
LINDHOLM: Joan Young has been going to Mad River Glen in Wakefield, Vermont, since 1952. That's a ski-only mountain right in Burton's backyard.
YOUNG: They've got pipes, they've got special snowboarding parks, I mean, I don't know what's wrong with Burton. What is their business of capturing Mad River?
LINDHOLM: But capture Mad River is just what a group of audacious snowboarders did recently. Early on a Saturday morning, a couple dozen riders trudged up the mountain carrying their snowboards.
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS ON SNOW)
LINDHOLM: Unidentified Man #2: Please line up towards down the hill...
LINDHOLM: Unidentified Woman: We're going to (unintelligible).
(SOUNDBITE OF NOISY CROWD)
(SOUNDBITE OF SNOWBOARDING)
LINDHOLM: Despite initial boos, the snowboarders actually got a pretty warm welcome from the skiers. Local skier Carrie Dolan(ph) even liked the stunt - to a point.
CARRIE DOLAN: It was so (unintelligible). Here he would come down, doing great. It was really fun to watch. But, you know, this is a skier's mountain.
LINDHOLM: Eric Friedman, Mad River Glen marketing directors, says if Burton wants snowboarders to grace these slopes, founder Jake Burton should put his money where his mouth is.
ERIC FRIEDMAN: Any decision is made by the co-p. So we encourage them to show you care, Jake, buy a share.
LINDHOLM: For NPR News, I'm Jane Lindholm.