Snowboarding has faltered in the last decade, attributable to climate change and economic uncertainty.

After nearly a decade of global growth that won the sport a spot in the Olympic games, snowboarding has taken a bit of a tumble. Economic uncertainty and climate change have contributed to declining global sales and participation over the past decade, leaving some in the industry wondering about its future.

In the US, the number of Americans who snowboard has dropped by about half a million over the past five years. Purchases of snowboards, boots and other gear have been steadily declining since their 2007 peak at $325 million, according to the National Sporting Goods Association.









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Snowboarding came into its own in the US in 1999, piquing the interest of a Millennial consumer base thrashing its way through adolescence. Young enthusiasts drove equipment sales and hit the slopes, pushing the activity into the mainstream and eventually onto the Olympic stage in 1998.

Now, experts in the US snow sports industry attribute the decline in interest to people in their late teens and twenties—the same age group that popularized the activity at its outset.









So what happened? Several things, says Kelly Davis, who lobbies on behalf of Snowsports Industries America. For starters, there’s less snow. One out of every five US snowboarders lives in California, which has suffered a pernicious drought for the last four seasons.

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“So when it doesn’t snow in California, what do you do?” Davis asked. “Especially if you’re 18 to 25.” California teens and young adults aren’t that free to hop in a car on a whim and drive to resorts in Utah, and many recent graduates are saddled with student loans that prohibit them from making multi-day trips for leisure, she said.

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