Diane Grob, a Miami author, bought a house last year in Santa Fe in large part to be closer to her favorite Taos slopes. She doesn't plan to sell, but she is talking with friends about spending some time next season in Alta and Deer Valley. "I understand it, but I hate it," she says of Taos's decision. "What makes Taos so wonderful is there are no snowboarders." She says she has been hit by snowboarders on several occasions at resorts in Colorado and Argentina and has had many close calls.

Skiers' list of complaints about boarders also include that they make more noise and displace more snow than skiers when they ride, and that they make erratic turns and obstruct paths by sitting down in the middle of slopes. At Mad River Glen, which banned snowboards in 1991, the governing co-op fears boarders would ruin the resort's character, mangle the legendary moguls and scrape natural snow off the sinewy trails, the resort's marketing director, Eric Friedman says.

Fighting back for what some call "equal snow," snowboarders say the same accusations could be leveled at skiers. Jake Burton, founder of snowboard company Burton, based in Burlington, Vt., says, "I feel the same way about a 15-year-old out of control on a pair of skis. And poles are pretty dangerous, too, especially when they're swinging them up the stairs." Boarders also say that use of fat powder skis has hurt slopes by luring more skiers to the powder.

Burton has committed $20,000 to a campaign for equal access for snowboarders. Earlier this month, he said he would award $5,000 to boarders who submit the best footage of themselves riding at resorts that prohibit them — a practice known as "poaching."

The National Ski Patrol counts three major U.S. resorts that ban snowboarding, though it says there might be some private resorts doing so that the patrol isn't aware of. April Darrow, a patrol spokeswoman, says there isn't any evidence that snowboarders scrape more snow off mountains than skiers. And the notion that boarders are more reckless is outdated and unsubstantiated, she says. "Snowboarding and snowboarders have matured since the sport was first introduced."