Snowboarding pioneer Jake Burton Carpenter dies at 65

Jake Burton Carpenter passed away Wednesday at the age of 65. (Vice screenshot)

Jake Burton Carpenter, the man who helped completely transform an avenue of the skiing industry, died Wednesday night in Burlington, Vermont. He was 65. 

The snowboarding pioneer had sent an e-mail to his employees earlier this month, announcing that he was battling cancer again. 

“You will not believe this, but my cancer has come back,” Carpenter wrote on Nov. 9. “It’s the same tumor as the first time around. We just never got rid of it all. A bit of it hung out in my lymph nodes and got back into business.” 

Burton Snowboards publicly confirmed Carpenter’s death on Twitter. 

It is with a heavy heart that we share that Burton founder Jake Burton Carpenter passed away peacefully last night surrounded by loved ones as a result of complications from recurring cancer. He was the soul of snowboarding, the one who gave us the sport we love. #RideonJake pic.twitter.com/8dChSsm54Y

— Burton Snowboards (@burtonsnowboard) November 21, 2019

The company also added that in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Chill Foundation, a youth development program that Carpenter founded in 1995 with his wife, Donna. 

Burton’s legacy is prevalent on slopes across New England and America, where his brand is synonymous with the sport of snowboarding and its fashion. He advanced the visions laid out by Sherman Popper’s “snurfer” and created an empire that would spread all the way to the Olympic Games. 

According to the Associated Press, Burton co-CEO John Lacy sent an email to staff, noting how Carpenter would want his employees to celebrate his life. 

“I’d encourage everyone to do what Jake would be doing tomorrow, and that’s riding. It’s opening day at Stowe, so consider taking some turns together, in celebration of Jake.”