Editor’s note on March 10, 2020: Due to COVID-19 concerns, three locations have canceled A Day for Jake events. They include Summit at Snoqualmie in Washington state, Seki Onsen Resort in Myoko, Japan; Absolut Park in Flachau, Austria; and Madonna Di Campiglio in Trentino, Italy. Please check the official event website for updates.
In November 2019, the snowsports industry lost a founding figure—Jake Burton Carpenter, who died at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer. In mid-March, riders will celebrate his life in the most fitting way they know how: by getting outside and making turns with friends.
Burton Snowboards has partnered with resorts around the world, and on March 13, those resorts will offer free lift tickets to anyone who wants to ride in memory of Carpenter and share in the joy of sliding sideways. Participants need to register by March 8 in order to secure a ticket.
Carpenter was always a snowboarder first. He despised wearing suits and attending board meetings and he rode 100 days a year. “For someone that had been the head of this huge company, he never made you feel like he was greater than you. He always made you feel like you were part of the family,” said Kimmy Fasani, a pro snowboarder and Burton team rider.
Carpenter’s career caught the eye of the outdoor sports media, but also that of the business world, and he’s been profiled in places like Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. In part due to his mainstream exposure, a global response and tribute came at the news of his death in late 2019.
For March 13, Burton Snowboards has extended the invite all over the world to ride to celebrate the life of the company’s founder. “Together we open our doors and open our hearts to carry Jake’s spirit forward; to share our love of the mountains and the joy of a perfect turn,” reads the A Day for Jake website. “Because snowboarding makes us happy. Snowboarding makes us hopeful. Snowboarding makes us free.”
The participating resorts span across the globe. The current list of resorts include Bear Mountain and Boreal Mountain, California; Big Sky Resort, Montana; Big Snow American Dream, New Jersey; Boyne Mountain, Michigan; Copper Mountain, Colorado; Stratton Mountain, Vermont; Cypress Mountain, British Columbia; Avoriaz, France; and Laax, Switzerland.
Vermont’s Stratton Mountain holds a particularly special place in the history of Burton and snowboarding in general. Stratton was the first major resort in the world to open its lifts to snowboarding and was where Jake—an East Coaster who first founded his company in a barn in Vermont in 1977—developed his prototypes.
“Jake Burton Carpenter’s vision was to bring snowboarding to all. On March 13, we are coming together as an industry and as a community to remember, reflect and ride,” said Andrew Kimiecik, a spokesperson for Stratton Mountain Resort. “What we hope to achieve is bringing together the community for a day of pure stoke and fun on the mountain.”
In the event that your local resort is not offering free lift tickets, there a number of ways to participate in A Day for Jake from afar. Consider gathering your own group to ride or day hike at your favorite mountain, making a DIY armband to show your support and tagging photos of your crew with #RideOnJake on March 13. More info here.
If you have additional questions or are looking for a status update, please call:
- USA: (802) 992-1588
- Canada: (514) 612-1685
- Europe: 00800 287 866 13