By ELIZABETH ARROWSMITH
Arrowsmith@newsroom.byu.edu
Snowskating is half snowboarding, half skateboarding and the next best thing to do when you can't hit the mountain.
The idea was born in Salt Lake, where Andy Wolf, president of the only snowskate company, Premier Snowskates, Inc., was living during the 1995-1996 season.
Wolf incorporated different elements of snowboards and skateboards into a mid-sized board with side-cuts, a kicked up nose and tail and a smooth underside without wheels and trucks. The board rides in the snow, slides rails, grinds on picnic tables and can perform most skate tricks, he said. The idea came to Wolf as he cruised around town on his snowboard in Salt Lake wanting to do ollies, kick-flips and board slides -- skate-style tricks.
'I started to mess around with different ideas, a snowboard design, and worked backward. I figured out shapes, the nose, tail, how to get it not to be so squirrelly on the snow,' Wolf said.
Although he was told it couldn't be done, Wolf polished his idea until launching his company, Premier, in Mount Hood, Oregon in the summer of 1998.
Wolf's company has sold 5,000 boards since that time.
Snowskating has gained popularity in Utah because riders can grind wherever there is snow, said Joe Piche, owner of Joe's Board Shop in Orem, a snowskate retailer.
'All you need is a shovel, pipe, a small slope and a wooden bench. It's cheap,' Piche said.
Accessibility is a big draw to snowskating because athletes can ride in parking lots, their backyards and snowy skate parks.
'That's the beauty of it -- you can do it anywhere,' said Ben Pellegrino, manager of Milo Snow and Skate in Provo. Aspen Grove is a popular place in Provo to snowskate.
'You just build a little kicker to get yourself up on the rail or table,' Piche said.
The snowskate is not designed for cruising down a mountain like snowboards because it doesn't have edges or a leash and you're not strapped in. It is designed for street-style skating on the snow and is good in a quarter pipe, according to Premier's Web site.
The sport draws exclusively from the snow and board aspects of snowboarding and the trick elements, size and function of skateboarding, Wolf said.
Snowskating allows skaters and riders to get in technical practice without a lot of hassle.
It's good for kids up at the resorts who've come down the hill and are looking for something to do, Piche said.
'It especially helps them improve the more technical tricks of skateboarding. It's nice to fall on snow instead of concrete,' he said.
The draw to snowskating is in its uniqueness, said J.P. Walker, a rider for Premier Snowskates and Forum Snowboards. It is good for people who can't get up on the mountain every day, he said.