Chris Karol remembers when Jake Burton was making snowboards in his garage. He remembers hearing about snowboards through the skateboarding grapevine growing up.
Now a seasoned snowboarding veteran, Karol has always enjoyed riding a snowboard and riding fast. So it should come as no surprise that he started the First Alpine Snowboard Team program, more commonly known as “FAST.”
The program is based in Park City for the first time this year and has a training hill at the Utah Olympic Park along with an agreement to ride and practice at Canyons resort.
While alpine snowboarding isn’t the most popular segment of the sport, it doesn’t lack in dedicated athletes.
“A lot of snowboarders don’t even know it exists,” Karol said. “But it’s racing.”
Karol used to race back in his heyday, but is now focused on promoting the sport to anyone who wants to listen.
“Alpine has taken its own path,” he said. “It used to be very tight-knit: there used to be a tour that always traveled together.”
According to Karol, the alpine snowboarding realm is as strong as it’s ever been with many athletes getting started at younger ages and competing in clubs into their later teens.
“It’s fully legit,” he said.
Along with partner Srdjan Pantic, director of European development, Karol and FAST are hoping the club can grow stronger.
Choosing to be centered in Park City was simple for Karol and the club.
“We’ve competed all around the world, and no place is easier than Park City,” said Karol of Park City’s resorts and proximity to a major airport.
Heather Herde, formerly of Oxford, Conn., grew up snowboarding in Vermont but didn’t enjoy all the jumps and tricks that came with freestyle snowboarding; she also preferred to go fast and began competing in alpine when she was younger.
When choosing a college, it came down to the University of Utah or Westminster College. After a friend convinced her Westminster better fit her style, the 22-year-old Herde enrolled and will graduate in the spring with a degree in environmental science.
Her association with FAST has only helped her career along and she gives much of the credit to Karol.
“Chris has helped us out a lot,” Herde said. “Everybody likes him, everybody progressed, and he knew what he was talking about.”
Herde reiterated that if not for Karol and the club she wouldn’t be where she is been today.
She has qualified for the FIS Snowboard World Championships in Spain, but will be staying in Utah to focus on her last semester of college.
While enrollment in alpine snowboarding continues to grow, Karol still views it at its purest form.
“Snowboarding hasn’t changed,” he said. “The gates have changed a bit. Racing is racing.”
As for FAST, it has found a home in Park City and will continue to reach out to those who either don’t know or don’t believe in the potential.
“(Karol) has been doing really well getting people to hear about us,” Herde said. “He’s been really helping us out for that extra voice.”
For more information on the club visit www.fastsnowboarding.com