Venture Snowboards Ceases Operations

Silverton, Colo.-based Venture Snowboards has announced it is ceasing operations. On September 3, the company issued a press release about its rocky outlook for the 2015-16 season, explaining that no boards will be delivered to market.

Wife and husband team Lisa and Klem Branner have owned and run Venture Snowboards since 1999, and the couple crafted snowboards and splitboards known for a great attention to detail and durability. The Branners have not responded to interview requests, but assure customers and retailers in their press release below that they did everything they could to continue manufacturing in the face an increasingly challenging landscape facing small, American manufacturers. Their closure means retailers will need to figure out what other brands might be able to fill the gap left by Venture.

Andy Kingston, owner of Alpine Shop in Burlington, Vt., brought Venture Snowboards into his store a year ago because his employees were excited about the brand. “We did well with them last year,” Kingston says. “We will absolutely stay with a boutique brand.”

Small companies like Venture push creative boundaries and influence design innovations, but struggle in the shadow of large manufacturers like Burton, says Mike Horn, a longtime friend of the Branners, and former managing editor of Backcountry and current Rider in Chief.

“Do enough people care where their boards come from to support a craft snowboard industry?” Horn pondered over the phone from his Crested Butte, Colo. office on Thursday. “Venture built, tested and evolved their boards in some of the most prolific mountains in the lower 48. Ask yourself: How many snowboard brands make their decks in the mountains? And how many of those brands actually employ snowboarders to make those same boards? Not many, and, in my opinion, not nearly enough.”

And now, one less.

From Venture Snowboards:

Venture Supporters,

Venture Snowboards has encountered some challenging terrain in recent months. Circumstances beyond our control have forced us to make a tough decision. We will not be delivering any boards to market for the 2015-16 winter season.

To our friends, colleagues, collaborators and all you Venture riders and supporters, we are deeply sorry. We sincerely apologize for any impacts this may have on you or your business.

To our staff who stuck by us through thick and thin—you are the heart of Venture. So many people had the best days of their lives on boards we built by hand. That is something to be proud of, something no one can take away.

Trust us when we say we did everything possible to make it work. Venture has been a labor of love for us for more than 16 years. We did it for you, for ourselves, and for snowboarding.

We can’t project what will happen beyond 2015-16. In the meantime, we hope you’ll support the other craft manufacturers out there who love snowboarding as much as we do.

This isn’t goodbye. See you soon.

Klem and Lisa Branner
Venture Snowboards