Four snowboarders are suing Alta Ski Resort in federal court for the right to destroy moguls and cut in lift lines. (Okay, I’m a skier.) Will this case turn on the standard of review the court uses or on whether the judge rides a snowboard? Should the plaintiffs win? Depends on who you ask.

The ban excludes a “particular class of individuals from use and enjoyment of public land based on irrational discrimination against snowboarders,” [attorney Jonathan Schofield] said.

It pits those who stand sideways on a single “snowboard” against those who stand forward on “skis,” creating hostility and divisiveness, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court.

Diane Harrington–a boarder and a skier–seems to agree:

“I think it should be figured out in the courts. I think it’s OK that Alta restricts use of the lift, but I don’t think it’s fair that they keep people off (U.S.) Forest Service property,” she said. “Our taxes pay for it equally. It’s almost like discrimination of sorts.”

Not so fast says Kevin Hurley:

“It’s the only place left. Give it to ’em. Snowboarders go anywhere else you want to go, but leave Alta for the skier. Where we live, we gotta deal with snowboarders, and we’d rather deal with skiers.”

Stay tuned.