as far as i know, thats not true... although its conveiniant
and as far as not copying snowobarding and all that shit goes... how many people were freeskiing before snowboarding was invented? albeit skijumping, which looks really fucking stupid unless youre into that yuppie alpine aspen spin and flip as much as possible bullshit
snowboarding and skiing are inextricably bound, people need to get over it... theres really no reason to hate skiing/snowboarding since everyone is focusing on the same goals just with different things strapped to their feet.
and for airblasters, if you like em...wear em... if you dont, dont
simple as that