by Ted Cohen

A Utah man who worked behind the scenes to bring snowboarding into the mainstream in North America has died.

Paul Alden began lobbying ski resorts 40 years ago to open their slopes to boarding.

Nowadays only three resorts nationwide prohibit snowboarding, one of them Mad River Glen in Vermont – the only New England Mountain that bans it.

Alden’s son, actually, has been actively involved in Burton Snowboards, a Vermont firm named for Jake Burton, one of the inventors of modern snowboards.

David Alden was a Burton team member, helping it become a global brand.

Besides helping promote his son’s sport into a worldwide rave, Alden enjoyed riding himself.

He spent years teaching snowboarding at Grand Targhee Ski Resort in Wyoming.