Whats more fun, Skiing or Snowboarding?

[Jengo]

Ive never done either, and we are goin up to a mountain on saturday with some buddies, wich should i do first and what is more fun?!

[Leonardo]

It's a personal preference. Snowboarding allows more tricks, while skiing is more for speed.

EDIT: I prefer skiing, but admit that I've never tried boarding. I enjoy skiing so much that I simply don't want to take time away from it to learn snowboarding. Besides, snowboards can't go fast enough. :D

[Jengo]

Well, what is your personal preference then?

[Nightwolf]

I'd rather just rip the trucks off my deck and use that!

[Xander]

Ok,

Snowboarding:

Snowboard is more for those people who enjoy doing tricks and not for them who are speed demons because at high speeds the snowboard starts to get unstable. The first time you get on a snowboard you will spend alot of time on your butt in the snow. Once you get it though it is a blast. Also an advantage to a snowboard is if you are unsure about the trail you are about to go down you can just basically plow down the entire mountain. The risk factor in my opinion is less due to the fact that both feet are attached to one board rather than skis where each leg can potentially go where it wants to.

Skiing:

Skiing is for those people who just like to fly down the mountain and feel the wind in their hair.(Or lack thereof). Ski's are definitly easier to learn how to use. The learning curve isn't as steep. The chances of getting hurt are greater due to the speed and the fact that each foot is attatched to its own ski.

That is my breakdown, my preference is toward snowboarding. By dad (Leo) prefers the skis because he is a ski freak.

[Aranyic]

I have never tried snow boarding, I love skiing though

[The Lone Reaper]

I learned to ski first and then crossed over to snowboarding, but only for awhile. I had a real tough time getting used to going sideways down the mountain instead of front-ways. Learning to snowboard was one of the most painful experiences in my life! Keep in mind though that everyone has a different experience with each, so YMMV. If you're just going once with no plans to go again in the immediate future then I'd recommend getting some ski-blades to minimize the learning curve and to get on the mountain faster. These ski-blades are a lot like riding inlines, but they are slower and not so friendly when you get into advanced terrain and higher speeds like on regular skis.

[sfleuriet]

I skiied once in Colorado - very bad experience. I don't remember a lot, but it was just horrible for me. At one point we all went to the very top of the mountain and started skiing down when, of course, my skiis break. I just didn't like it - I always fell and never had much control of where I was going. :p

[entropy]

Skiing. I suck at snowboarding.

...not that I'm that much better of a skiier, though...

[Leonardo]

I skiied once in Colorado - very bad experience. It's a lot of fun when you have the opportunity to gain skill. Don't feel bad. Most people's first time on the slope - skis or snowboard, is a lot of pain and hard work. It just takes a while.

[Nosferatu]

I learned to ski first and then crossed over to snowboarding, but only for awhile. I had a real tough time getting used to going sideways down the mountain instead of front-ways. Learning to snowboard was one of the most painful experiences in my life! Keep in mind though that everyone has a different experience with each, so YMMV. If you're just going once with no plans to go again in the immediate future then I'd recommend getting some ski-blades to minimize the learning curve and to get on the mountain faster. These ski-blades are a lot like riding inlines, but they are slower and not so friendly when you get into advanced terrain and higher speeds like on regular skis.

I agree with everything you said. I've been skiing for many years and can handle black diamond runs comfortably, probably a double black diamond if I had the nerve. Anyway, I've been trying to learn to snowboard for a few years now. It is DEFINITELY very painful. I've sprained my wrist in '00 and I broke my collarbone in Jan. '05. My feeling is that you fall harder with snowboarding because you have two ways to fall: forward or backward. What do you use to brace your fall? For me, all my weight is braced by my hands trying to catch my fall. The snowboard stays attached so it throws you in very weird positions as you're falling, which might explain breaking my collarbone. I've never been hurt skiing, at all that I can remember. If I ever fall skiing, the skis just fly off and after I stop tumbling I get up and laugh at how funny I probably looked. If the ski bindings didn't release or are too tight and don't release properly, then I think the possibility for injuring your legs/knees would be more for skiing, but since the skis come off as soon as you start tumbling, it's not bad at all.

I also recommend ski-blades to anyone who has never been skiing. I went on a ski trip to Vail, Colorado with a friend who had never been skiing or snowboarding before. He had bought snow-blades/ski-blades off eBay before we left. The learning curve for him was almost zero!! I was nothing short of amazed, the first day he was doing blues with me and the 2nd day he was going down black diamonds. Albeit slower and more cautious than me, but he had enough control to do it!

The Lone Reaper, I'm also having trouble adjusting to going down the mountain sideways as I'm so used to skiing. I also haven't been able to "get the hang" of snowboarding, you know.. that moment where it just clicks. I think I fall usually because I catch an edge or try to go straight and don't use any edges? Is this a recipe for falling? Can you not ride a snowboard "flat" without constantly being on one edge or another?

[tehmada]

i think i like boarding better partly because your two poles and two skis are reduced down to 1 piece of equipment. maybe im just a minimalist, but it feels better to me. plus, personal preference = tricks > speed :cool:

nosferatu, i know what you mean about trying to ride flat with no edges.
i think that its possible, but for beginners like myself, its so tough that its impractical... (and painful)

[The Lone Reaper]

Yeah, that's right. If you aren't paying complete attention to your technique the whole time, SLAM! and you're done. After trying "normal" snowboards (all mountain or freeride) with no luck I tried freecarve/race boards with hardboots and plate bindings and high angles but they didn't help. They were better but just didn't cut it, you may have better luck with this setup than I did.

I agree with everything you said. I've been skiing for many years and can handle black diamond runs comfortably, probably a double black diamond if I had the nerve. Anyway, I've been trying to learn to snowboard for a few years now. It is DEFINITELY very painful. I've sprained my wrist in '00 and I broke my collarbone in Jan. '05. My feeling is that you fall harder with snowboarding because you have two ways to fall: forward or backward. What do you use to brace your fall? For me, all my weight is braced by my hands trying to catch my fall. The snowboard stays attached so it throws you in very weird positions as you're falling, which might explain breaking my collarbone. I've never been hurt skiing, at all that I can remember. If I ever fall skiing, the skis just fly off and after I stop tumbling I get up and laugh at how funny I probably looked. If the ski bindings didn't release or are too tight and don't release properly, then I think the possibility for injuring your legs/knees would be more for skiing, but since the skis come off as soon as you start tumbling, it's not bad at all.

I also recommend ski-blades to anyone who has never been skiing. I went on a ski trip to Vail, Colorado with a friend who had never been skiing or snowboarding before. He had bought snow-blades/ski-blades off eBay before we left. The learning curve for him was almost zero!! I was nothing short of amazed, the first day he was doing blues with me and the 2nd day he was going down black diamonds. Albeit slower and more cautious than me, but he had enough control to do it!

The Lone Reaper, I'm also having trouble adjusting to going down the mountain sideways as I'm so used to skiing. I also haven't been able to "get the hang" of snowboarding, you know.. that moment where it just clicks. I think I fall usually because I catch an edge or try to go straight and don't use any edges? Is this a recipe for falling? Can you not ride a snowboard "flat" without constantly being on one edge or another?

[Leonardo]

personal preference = tricks > speed SPEED > tricks. Actually, I've never tried snowboarding. I don't want to learn new tricks. Besides, I've broken both wrists twice. One more time, and I won't have a lot of use out of the hand(s). When I learned to ski, to my knowledge, there was no such thing as a snowboard. Great invention, just not for me.

[Jengo]

Trip Went great!

I tried skiing, it was very fun!! and i didnt fall my fist time down the bunny slope! ^_^

Ive been talking with some friends to help me out with technique and they gave me some pretty awsome tips, like lifting your inside leg alittle on turns, i need to try that out!!

Any one got any good tips for a beginner? Like good tips for turning sharp, stopping fast, and what to do when you are positive you are gonna bite it?!

thanks!! and im probably gonna go skiing in another few weeks!! w00 w00!! i had a blast!!

[The Lone Reaper]

Glad you had fun!

Tips:
1. Always bias yourself towards the fall line (down the mountain), even if that's not the direction you're going.
2. Wrecking:
a. High speed: try to keep your legs together and hug yourself with your arms;
b. Low speed: don't put your hands out to break your fall. Instead fall on your forearms if you can to maximize surface area.
3. Learn to "hockey stop" to stop more quickly than with the "pizza slice." There are different ways to do it, either put more of your weight over your tips and swing your tails around or jump right into the hockey stop.
4. Keep your legs bent.
5. When turning experiment with compressing and extending at different times. I generally go low into a turn and then extend through the apex to come out faster and get an "on rails" feeling.
6. Never (hardly ever) buy brand spanking new equipment right when it comes out, the markup is incredible. Buy stuff that's still new but from a season or two back. It's still great gear but at half the price or better. I've done this and then resold after a season or so and sometimes actually made a profit! Watch for ski swaps too.


Trip Went great!

I tried skiing, it was very fun!! and i didnt fall my fist time down the bunny slope! ^_^

Ive been talking with some friends to help me out with technique and they gave me some pretty awsome tips, like lifting your inside leg alittle on turns, i need to try that out!!

Any one got any good tips for a beginner? Like good tips for turning sharp, stopping fast, and what to do when you are positive you are gonna bite it?!

thanks!! and im probably gonna go skiing in another few weeks!! w00 w00!! i had a blast!!

[Madball]

Lone Reaper basically covered it. He's a MT/CO boy, so he know skiing. Most importantly is Have Fun! I don't have as much time to ski as I did when I was in college in Bozeman, but I still get up a couple times a year. The snow this year is great, so I'll have try to go sometime during the Holiday's.

[Leonardo]

Jengo, I'm so glad you had fun. A good day skiing is pretty close to heaven in my book. :cool: Lone Reaper explained good tips in writing much better I could have. Best way to learn is ski with someone who is experienced.

[Nosferatu]

I dunno if I can explain it well enough to give tips since it just comes natural to me. But thinking about it, skiing is all about shifting your weight on your feet and the angles of your skis to the snow and to each other. When you're learning, don't worry about keeping your skis parallel. Keep them in the "pie stance" and practice turns, as you get better and more confident down the road you can focus on learning to keep them parallel and relatively close together. Also, you don't have to get real caught up if you are using poles when you are learning. A lot of people don't use poles when they learn. However, when you get better they come into play, especially on mogul runs. It's obvious, but you should probably stay off the moguls until you are 100% sure you can control yourself (speed, direction, etc.) on your skis. The last thing you want to do is go flying straight down a mogul run! :D

[Sledgehammer70]

I said neither, but I do love winter... as me being 6'5 and 250+ LBS the factor of the Taller you are the harder you fall comes into play allot with me... and you add speed to that factor and the fact your going down hill.... = No fun for Sledgehammer70!

[Jengo]

thanks for your tips guys!! im probably gonna be goin back up to white pass in a few weeks, and im gonna love it!! w00 w00!!