Snowboarding enthusiasts can now pursue their passion all year round, thanks to a new Canadian invention.
Billy Sullivan, a media specialist and part-time inventor from Almonte, Ontario, has launched his patent-pending Hill Glider – a snowboard-like device that works without snow.
The Hill Glider is designed to roll down groomed grassy hills, the kind you can find at a lot of neighbourhood parks.
It looks a little like a skateboard but with one big difference, a single, specially-designed wheel poking up right through the middle of the board.
Sullivan says it’s that wheel that gives the Hill Glider the same feel as a snowboard, or even a surf board, while rolling down a grassy hill. “With the central wheel it allows you to catch the edge and you can actually ride the hill,” he says. “So instead of just bombing it (straight) down you can actually carve it back and forth just like a snowboarder would.”
Sullivan’s friend and business partner, Mike Sorokowsky, says it’s like a snowboard, but it also has properties that a snowboard doesn’t. He sees it as a new “boarding” sport all its own. “You can pivot. You can turn,” says Sorokowsky. “And you can get going pretty fast if you want to.”
The Hill Glider includes a hand brake.
Sullivan says it’s easy for beginners to use, but will also appeal to more seasoned users. The central wheel can be adjusted up or down to allow for more pivoting and harder turns. “If you want to go extreme you could go down ski hills and be going up to 50 kilometres an hour,” he says.
An avid snowboarder and wakeboarder, Sullivan says he’s been tinkering with the idea for a few years. But it’s only been in the past year that he has perfected the design and turned it into a business. He sells the Hill Glider online for around $200 to $250 dollars.
It will also be on display at the Ottawa Ski, Snowboard and Travel Show October 22 & 23 at the Ernst and Young Centre.
