DENVER (AP) – It’s a mountain-bound battle between those who want to whoosh and those who want to shred.
A group of snowboarders argued Tuesday for the right to rip down the slopes of a Utah ski resort. Federal judges from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver are facing an icy culture clash between the boarders and Alta Ski Area, which wants to keep its runs reserved for skiers.
The four snowboarders, who say the ban is based on incorrect stereotypes that cast them as reckless and inconsiderate, appealed after a federal judge in Utah threw out their lawsuit.
That judge said snowboarders don’t have a constitutional right to practice their sport and that allowing the lawsuit would be a slippery slope for others to claim discrimination against private companies.
Only two other U.S. resorts ban snowboarding: Deer Valley in Utah and Mad River Glen in Vermont.