It’s almost unbelievable in this day and age that a resort can actually ban snowboarders. Still Utah’s a funny old place with some esoteric philosophies holding sway. However, Alta has reiterated its old school credentials by getting rid of its terrain park for the coming season. The claim is riders (um, well, skiers, in this case) prefer to use the natural terrain features rather than the park, so it is uneconomical. [Ed: Chamonix’s Grands Montets has often used the same argument for stinting on providing park facilities]. Alta eliminating terrain park In this era of ski and snowboard resorts building, expanding and promoting terrain parks, one ski area is bucking the trend by eliminating theirs. “We found that our skiers were curious about the park, and had a lot of fun times jibbing,” Utah’s legendary Alta Ski Area announced on their website this week. “But we were also astonished by how many more of our skiers preferred to use the natural terrain features on our 2,200 acres as their preferred ‘park.'” Investment not worth limited use Terrain parks require an enormous investment in equipment time and manpower to both create and maintain. Alta’s terrain park, located off Vail Ridge and served by both the Albion and Sunnyside chairlifts, was frequently empty. Many locals consider Alta’s terrain to constitute one giant natural terrain park. Boarders still banned Alta is one of only four ski areas left in the United States that prohibits snowboarding, possibly contributing to the terrain park’s lack of use. Alta shares that distinction with neighboring Deer Valley, New Mexico’s Taos, and Vermont’s Mad River Glen.