Jackson, WY – Minyan Of Jews (10) Set To Ride World’s Longest Snowboard

Jackson, WY – Eric Sweet already has a hold on the trademark. He’s also in contact with the Guinness World Records and Fuel TV and has interested a producer in Los Angeles, who may want the movie rights.

What, exactly, does Sweet have that’s drawing attention from people around the country? The world’s longest snowboard, of course.

Sweet has teamed with several friends to construct a 36-foot, 10-person snowboard. He plans to launch it April 1 at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

“On the one hand, it seems like a ridiculous thing to do,” said Wilson resident Gal Bar-or, who will be one of the riders. “But it’s come to shape pretty fast.”

Sweet’s attempt to launch his giant, snake-like board comes with an odd twist, though. All 10 riders will be Jewish, including Sweet.

Sweet has also procured a trademark hold from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office giving him rights to the name “Ten Jews, One Snowboard” and “The Minyan Board.”

Sweet says he’s having fun with the whole project.

“It was more difficult to put 10 Jews together and agree on something,” Sweet said. “That’s part of what I think is funny: With 10 Jews, can we actually pull it off? I don’t know. With 10 Jews on a snowboard, it’s going to be hard for us to look athletic.”

Sweet is no stranger to such offbeat ideas. He built and rode a three-person snowboard at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort last year. The ride drew the attention of several local television affiliates and media outlets.

“Before you rode it, the feeling was unimaginable,” Sweet said. “We fell three times. It’s never been done since then.”

Sweet, 47, has plenty of experience on a snowboard. Originally from New York and currently residing in Maine, Sweet has been coming to Jackson for winters since he was 13 years old. His idea for the Minyan Board came after meeting Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn in Jackson.

“I came back to Jackson this winter and wanted to do something more,” Sweet said. “I approached the rabbi, spoke to him about that idea, and he thought it was fun. He thought it would bring fun to Judaism. It was crazy enough to work.”

At first, some thought the idea wouldn’t actually take flight.

“For the sake of novelty, I agreed to do it,” Bar-or said. “But I didn’t think it would happen. It’s amazing how fast it’s come together.”

The team constructed the board Friday. To construct the Minyan Board, the team cut off the tips and ends of recycled snowboards and connected them. Each snowboard can detach, allowing the team to take the board up a chairlift one board at a time. The team then will assemble the board after getting off the chairlift.

Bar-or was part of the construction.

“It went about as smoothly as making a 36-foot snowboard can go,” he said.

Sweet did not seek approval from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to launch his three-person board last year, and he doesn’t plan to do so this year. He plans to ride the board from the top of the Eagle’s Rest or Teewinot lifts sometime April 1.

“I don’t want to come off as though I’m antagonizing them,” he said. “I ask for forgiveness rather than permission.”

The team is excited but anxious about their launch.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of logistics to get it to happen,” Bar-or said. “Assuming everyone gets there and we have all the bindings right, it should be good. Theoretically, it should go very smoothly. And it’s going to be in the flats. We’re just going to try to go straight. If we can keep it simple and balance for a couple hundred yards we should be OK.”

Sweet said if the team completes a run and he has five witnesses, he expects the Guinness Book of World Records to recognize his Minyan Board as the longest snowboard ever used. He also has the interest of Fuel TV, which plans a segment on the run, and Los Angeles producer Scott LaStaiti, who is considering turning the story into a movie.

Sweet is also thinking about writing a book about the experience.

“Nothing,” Sweet said, “will stop me.”