"I like to think of the sportsmen and women who say that they play their best when they are having most fun." So says Jake Burton, head of one of the most famous companies in the ski world. Burton is the sort of boss who thinks that he should have fun, too, spending at least 100 days a year out on the slopes. Often credited as the "inventor" of the snowboard, the 48-year-old prefers to think of himself as the man who "made the sport happen". Shortly before Christmas 1977, he gave up a well-paid corporate job in New York City and started making new-fangled snowboards in a barn in the village of Londonderry, Vermont. Not many sold, so he switched his strategy, and developed snowboarding as a sport, instead of just marketing the equipment.

A major breakthrough came during the three years he and his wife Donna spent in Austria. "I went to learn how skis were made. My snowboards were really just wooden skateboards on snow. In Innsbruck, I learned about new materials and things like steel edges. Although the sport was invented in the USA, it soon exploded in Europe, rather like windsurfing. And it spread with the World Cup circuit. Riders like Terje Haakonsen of Norway really triggered interest in Scandinavia. Those Finns, Norwegians and Swedes are amazing."

Burton, a regular visitor to Europe, has fond memories of several resorts. "I tend to remember the places we hit great snow. There was Ore, in Sweden, where the snow was fantastic but the daylight hours were short, so we rode and rode as long as we could. Les Arcs and Verbier are great for boarding, as are so many resorts in France, Switzerland and Austria. But in the end I still love Igls, above Innsbruck, where we lived - some lovely steeps with powder snow."

Twenty-five years on, Burton is delighted that snowboarding is no longer the preserve of the young, describing it as "totally democratic. I'm not a numbers person. I know nothing about the number of boarders in the world or the demographics, though there is someone in the company who does." In this, the 25th anniversary season of snowboarding, Burton sees his job as nurturing what is still a young sport. "I want to look after the Olympics. A year ago, Park City had a great half pipe and the Americans put on a great show, but the important thing was that the Europeans and the Japanese all had a good time, too."

Although snowboarding started off as a rebellion against skiing, Burton is pleased that, over time, resorts have generally become board-friendly. "When they cut new trails or install new lifts they think about snowboarders. They put racks on the back of gondolas, for example."

Snow came early to Vermont this season. "Stowe is my home, but I also go over to 'Smuggs' (Smugglers' Notch). In fact, there's a notch between the two resorts where there are several back country runs that I enjoy with my family." But what will his children be riding in 25 years time? The answer might well be the snowdeck. "This is my new challenge, a new toy called a snowdeck." With two tiers, it looks like a skateboard fixed on top of a mini-snowboard, a sort of hi-tech tea tray. "The beauty of the snowdeck is that you don't need to go to a resort to have fun. Any little hill, parking lot or field will do. Just wear the shoes you have on ... and off you go." Expect Jake Burton to be out of the office on even more days this winter.