WHEN the neighbouring Utah ski areas of Alta and Snowbird in the Wasatch Mountains decided to link together on one lift pass in 2002 there was a slight problem to resolve.

Alta, which opened its first lift in 1939, making it one of the oldest ski areas in America, is steadfastly anti-snowboarding and has banned it from its slopes whereas Snowbird welcomes boarders with open arms.

The solution? A turnstile was erected on the ridge that divides the two resorts preventing boarders from entering Alta from the Snowbird side was erected on the ridge that divides the two resorts. Over the years several boarders have sneaked into Alta and attempted to ride to the bottom - and it has become a badge of honour for those who have succeeded before being caught and evicted by the ski patrol.

But the situation recently took a more serious turn. A lawsuit has been filed in the District Court for the District of Utah against Alta and the United States Forest Service attempting to overturn the anti-snowboarder policy and snowboarding ban.

The lawsuit has been drawn up by Wasatch Equality, a Utah non-profit corporation, and four individual snowboarders. They are also seeking a declaration from the Court that Alta's snowboarding prohibition, as enforced by the Forest Service, violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and is therefore unlawful.

If they are successful it could also have repercussions for nearby Deer Valley and Vermont's Mad River Glen, two other American resorts which also has a ban on snowboarders. When snowboarding first became popular in the 1980s a sizable number of ski areas prohibited boarding or limited boarders to certain slopes.

By the mid-1990s nearly all ski areas did permit snowboarding on all slopes (one of the notable exceptions was Park City Mountain resort in Utah which quickly changed its mind in time to host boarding events at the 2002 Olympics).

Jonathan Schofield, attorney with Parr Brown Gee & Loveless, which is representing Wasatch Equality, said: “Alta is one of only three ski resorts in the United States that does not allow snowboarding, and Alta is the only one of these resorts that is operated on public land controlled by the Forest Service.

“Because of Alta’s relationship with the government, Alta’s actions must comply with the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause.”

According to Schofield Alta's prohibition against snowboarders excludes a particular class of individuals from use and enjoyment of public land based on irrational discrimination against snowboarders, which denies them equal protection under the law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

The law suit alleges that the reasons offered by Alta in support of its policy are a pretext and that there is no legitimate reason for Alta and the Forest Service’s continued denial of access to one group of people (snowboarders) while granting access to a similar group of people (skiers). Wasatch Equality maintains that for this reason Alta's anti-snowboarder policy and snowboarding ban cannot be enforced.

Drew Hicken, of Wasatch Equality, said: “Snowboarding and skiing are wholesome, family-friendly activities, and there is no reason why they cannot coexist.

“We feel that it is time for Alta to let go of outdated prejudices that perpetuate a skier-versus-snowboarder mentality and allow everyone, regardless of whether they are skiers or snowboarders, to share the mountain together.”