Bawdy boards get the boot
At least that's what some ski areas are telling their workers
By Melanie Asmar, Special to the Rocky
Published November 25, 2008 at 4:03 p.m.
Updated November 25, 2008 at 11:54 p.m.
Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky
David Cunningham, 19, a manager at The Board Cartel in Wheat Ridge, holds a pair of Burton "Love" snowboards, part of a limited edition series featuring Playboy centerfolds. The risque art has led some ski resorts to ban their employees from using the boards while on duty.
Photo by Barry Gutierrez © The Rocky
David Cunningham, 19, a manager at The Board Cartel, holds a Burton Love snowboard, part of a limited edition series featuring Playboy centerfolds.
Should ski resorts ban employees from riding Burton's "Love" Boards?
CORRECTION: This story should have said that Echo Mountain discouraged its employees from using snowboards imprinted with Playboy centerfolds, but there was no ban on the boards.
Naked women and snowboarding don't usually go together. And several Colorado mountains want to keep it that way - at least when it comes to their employees.
Vail Resorts, Winter Park Resort and Echo Mountain are among the mountains banning employees from riding a new line of Burton snowboards that feature nearly nude Playboy centerfolds.
Spokesmen for the resorts say the "Love" boards could offend guests, especially parents of young children who'd rather save the birds-and-bees conversation for another time.
"This is definitely a lot less subtle than some graphics have been in the past," said Molly Mueller, marketing director at Echo Mountain in Idaho Springs.
"We have a stringent employee appearance standard," said Tom Carey, director of guest experience at Winter Park. "We want our employees to be approachable."
Guests will still be allowed to ride the boards, the spokesmen said.
Off-the-clock employees also will be allowed to ride them.
At least one mountain is allowing "Love" all the time. Monarch Mountain owner Bob Nicolls said he won't ban the risque boards.
"Those boards aren't illegal," Nicolls said. "Unless it's illegal, I don't think we're going to be censoring it."
Aspen/Snowmass has taken an in-between stance. Spokesman Jeff Hanle said the mountain plans to deal with the "Love" boards on a case-by-case basis. For instance, he said, children's instructors will likely be discouraged from riding the boards while on duty.
Burton stands by its boards, despite complaints from parents and a protest outside its Burlington, Vt., headquarters. The company issued a statement defending the designs as "artistic expression."
"Board graphics are artwork, and art can be offensive to some and inspiring to others," it says. "Snowboarding is a sport and a lifestyle where boundaries are pushed in terms of artwork."
There are four boards in the "Love" series. Each features a different classic Playboy model. Their nipples and genitals are cropped out of view but their bare behinds remain on full display.
Not all stores are selling the "Love" boards. Only three out of the more than 140 stores owned by Denver-based Specialty Sports Venture carry them, said company president Ken Gart.
The stores decide individually what to sell, Gart said, and three - in Vail, Beaver Creek and Nevada's Lake Tahoe - have opted for the "Love." But the boards are kept off the floor and out of view, he said.
"We felt it was appropriate to put the stuff in the back room so we're sure not to offend anybody," Gart said.
At the independent Board Cartel shop in Wheat Ridge, owner Jill Twehouse said the ladies of "Love" are displayed for all to see, albeit in a PG way. The boards are covered so that only the models' heads are showing, she said.
"We're doing it in a way that's classy enough," Twehouse said.
But even though she's discreet in the store, she said she's all for a little sexiness on the slopes.
"What the heck is wrong with love?" Twehouse said. "Heaven forbid someone put a hot chick on a snowboard."
The "Love" series is one of two Burton series causing a stir this year.
Some mountains have banned the company's "Primo" boards, which feature cartoons of self-mutilation.
Not on board
Here is a partial list of Colorado resorts that have banned - or strongly advised against - employees riding Burton's "Love" boards while on duty. Several other mountains did not return phone calls.
* Vail
* Beaver Creek
* Breckenridge
* Keystone
* Winter Park
* Echo Mountain (not yet open)
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November 25, 2008
5:26 p.m.
Suggest removal
mrwiizrd writes:
Why is this front page news again?
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news...
In my mind this is no different than a dress code, and plenty of employers have dress codes for their employees.
November 25, 2008
5:51 p.m.
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jackt writes:
should be full frontal. Apres ski...bro bra
November 25, 2008
5:58 p.m.
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Uno writes:
Spread eagle, just like the presidential seal.
November 25, 2008
6:17 p.m.
Suggest removal
johnson writes:
Time to take up 'boardin'. And BTW, congrats to Monarch Ski Area for their position.
November 25, 2008
6:19 p.m.
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Cwillyrun1 writes:
The Love board...... for those guys who are really desperate for attention.
November 25, 2008
6:21 p.m.
Suggest removal
MattGuyver_007 writes:
Not newsworthy... but what is newsworthy is the fact that most employees won't be able to afford these new boards anyhow due to this lousy economy.
November 25, 2008
6:59 p.m.
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HopiMedicineMan writes:
I wouldn't buy one unless there was a picture of Elaine Miles (hubba, hubba).
November 25, 2008
7:23 p.m.
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wbb writes:
This will certainly sell more tickets at Beaver Creek.
November 25, 2008
9:56 p.m.
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Uno writes:
wbb, good one...
November 26, 2008
7:01 a.m.
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redfive writes:
Sad. It's a sign of the times. Years from now when our children become parents, there will be snowboards with pictures of rape scenes, drug use, and mass murder and by then people will be complacent with it because that will be what's on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon by then.
November 26, 2008
7:20 a.m.
Suggest removal
INC writes:
fact is the "moral" police need to get a grip.
everyone has a body! albiet snow suits are unbecoming so the mere appearance of skin on the slopes gets em riled up??
Pu-lease...
I have a bumper sticker that reads "ride naked" it applies winter and summer. Boards and Harley's baby!!!
November 26, 2008
7:38 a.m.
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AngelontheSidelines writes:
Those Puritans still control American's thoughts.
November 26, 2008
8:08 a.m.
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intothelens writes:
So, you "everybody has a body" posters, you don't mind then if your mailman, your grocery store clerk, your car repair man, your hair dresser, your cable guy, etc., start doing their jobs naked! Heck, show it off, right?
There are limits. If you want to flaunt nudity on your own time, fine, you are of course responsible for any offenses to other people (that weighs on your mind, you rebels, I can tell). But while your are being paid to represent the boss and his venture, his image is at stake, his backside is ultimately on the line. The boss is paying you to not offend customers. If you can't put aside your need to express nakedness while on his/her dime.....the you should be working for yourself. Just put it away until you punch the clock, that's all.
November 26, 2008
8:57 a.m.
Suggest removal
vendari01 writes:
From what I gather, these are the equivalent of late 60's, early 70's Playboy pix, with no frontal nudity. You'd see as much on nearly any Florida beach, or in any Victoria's Secret catalog. And there's a big difference between pix on boards and live nudity. Most of us- myself included- don't look all that good naked. Anyway, I'd rather they were pointing at my board than at my lousy technique!
November 26, 2008
3:33 p.m.
Suggest removal
EastVail writes:
I am looking forward to chairlift rides more than ever before!
Intothelens, if I do something that offends you, that's your issue, not mine. Have the self control to not be offended, it's as simple as that.
What's the big deal with nudity? Sheesh, we are such prudes.