First US snowboard park with cable system opens in Rexburg

The Cable Factory opened its doors in Rexburg this weekend, and it’s the first of its kind in the United States.

For snowboarders and skiers, winter weather means hitting the slopes, but there’s no need to make the trip to the mountains to catch fresh powder and some air.

The Cable Factory is the first cable system snowboard park in the United States.

“A cable park is a cable system that pulls you with two ropes across the snow or water,” said owner Brett Kesler.

Two towers are set 500 feet apart and a motorized cable is run between. The snowboarder or skier holds the rope which is controlled by an operator and it carries the boarder through the course.

Kesler said the rope gives beginners a little more stability than on a mountain.

Kesler, an avid wake-boarder got the idea to take the popular summer water sport and make it into a winter activity.

“Since our summers are so short here in Idaho, we wanted to put that on the snow for the winter,” said Kessler.

Installing the system wasn’t easy. All of the snow was hauled in by the city of Rexburg, and the jumps are all handmade.

“We have 15 different features that snowboarders and skiers. We have two different tails and four or five different boxes and three different jumps they can hit. It’s a lot of fun to go and learn how get really good at riding a snowboard park,” said Kessler.

The Cable Factory is on the Rainbow Lake property in Rexburg. It is open from 2 p.m to 10 p.m every weekday and 10 a.m to 10 p.m on weekends. The Cable Factory also offers lessons and gear rental.