Photo Credit: Nikola Stojadinovic. File photo. (iStock)

Photo Credit: Nikola Stojadinovic. File photo. (iStock)

Todd Bennet, the president and chief operating officer at Deer Valley Resort in Utah, recently hinted at a potential partnership between Deer Valley and Utah's soon-to-open Mayflower Mountain ski area at a panel discussion with other ski industry experts.

According to a report by local news source ParkRecord.com, the alliance could mean a snowboarding ban at Mayflower Mountain, similar to the one that already exists at Deer Valley.

The snowboarding policy at Deer Valley is clear: "Deer Valley is a ski only resort." 

The "why," as it turns out, is a bit harder to explain. 

Deer Valley is one of three major American resorts that do not allow snowboarders on their slopes, including Alta Resort in Utah and Mad River Glen in Vermont. 

One possible explanation for the snowboarding bans could be because snowboards are wider than skis and dig deeper into snow, which could impact snow quality, especially on fresh powder days. 

Snowboards are also harder to use on flat terrain, which causes some people to remove their boards and walk on foot. This could raise a potential safety issue as skiers traverse past them. 

Of the three snowboard-free resorts, Mad River Glen offers the most comprehensive explanation for the policy. 

"While most ski lifts have a raised platform for disembarking, the Single has an offloading area that is flat which made it difficult for snowboarders to get out of their seat and ride away from. Naturally, this made people push off from the chair but that caused it to derail from the sheave wheels, this became a common issue that obviously had safety implications," the resort's website reads. 

Resort shareholders eventually voted to ban snowboarding all together in 1995. The ban has remained in place ever since. 

"We want to make clear that there is no animosity towards snowboarders per se. The ski industry is very competitive and our Co-op owners believe that the snowboarding policy is the best course for the mountain," it says. 

This raises a third potential reason for the bans; an unwritten rivalry between skiers and snowboarders. One take, written by Anthony Schwabe on NewToSki.com, is that the age difference between snowboarding and skiing as sports is the root of the divide. According to Schwabe, the snowboarding crowd can be viewed as louder and rowdier for this reason.

Mayflower Mountain is slated to open by winter 2024. It's likely more talk about the possible ban will take place prior to that.

What is your opinion of snowboard-free skiing destinations? Let us know in the comments section.

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