Snowboarding or Skiing ?

nero120 said:
Nah, skiing is easier to learn, but harder to master. Trust me, compare two beginners classes, skiers and snowboarders, it aint the skiers that spend most of their lessons on their asses! :)
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This is the truth. The first few days on skis will be better than on a board. The next few years and the boarders quickyl accelrate their learning.
 
D.P. said:
I would very definitely learn to ski, and once you are quite confident skiing most slopes, then try snowboarding. It is much better to be a good skier who can snowboard whenever they want ofr a change, than vice versa.

Both sports are fun, I cnan't argue which is more fun. But there are some practical issues that differentiate the 2. Skiing offers more control due to independent legs, double the edges, and longer straighter running surface is more stable. Hence the world speed records are far faster for skiers, skiers ski far faster down a downhill or GS course, and can ski faster down a slalom course. Skis handle ice and bumps better. In fact, bump skiing is actually a lot of fun, but generally a nightmare for snowboarders.
Maybe that is not important to you. Skis also clip into boots easily without any adjustment, the step in bindings never took off in snowboarding so you need to sit on your ass adjusting straps a lot. This normally means when you get off a chairlift the snowboarders will sit down as the skiers race pass. The drag/poma lifts are also simply with skis, but snowboarders take a long time to master them.

Snowboarding is great at going though powder. The problem for off-piste is that A, they cannot traverse easilly to the powder fields. And where skiers simply need to push themselves along with their poles, or do a skating motion, snowboarders will have to unstrap and wlak along often dangerous traverse slipping, or simply post-holing with the snow going up to their waist. Skiers will quickly get to terrain further out. This whole process will repeated at the bottom of the powder field if it goes flat (as it often does) where boarders will need to unstrap and walk.
I've seen some snowboarders carry snow-shoes with them to negotiate such traverses and walkouts.

Even if you don't go off-piste, you get similar problems on any piste that goers flat or has an uphill. A skier can more comfortably tuck down and go fats, but the main difference is the skiers simply push or skate op the slope.

Then there is the fundamental things. Skiing was designed as a transportation mecanism in snowy landscapes. As such it is highly adaptable to travel in the mountains.
Personally I really enjoy ski touring and ski mountaineering. That is, you have skis on your feet with special bindings that let you raise your feet normally and special skins with a 1-way grip that let you glide up the mountain. If you like to ski powder where no one else has, or enjoy the peace of the mountains in winter, touring is great. Snowboards have 3 options: 1) take snow-shoes and laboriously slumber up the mountain with snowboard on their back, 2) buy short light skis they use to climb up with the board on their back, then swap over at the top, 3) learn to ski and do it on skis.
After messing with option 1, most learn to do option 3. As such the number of back country boarders is very low.


It took me 2 hours to learn to snowboard and I do it once or twice a year for giggles. I ski 50-80 days a year
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I doubt he has his heart set on the world speed record or GS, so should probably do which ever he finds most appealing / fun.

You make snowboarding sound like much more of an ordeal than it need be. Step ins were crap but I ride flows and as such it is extremely rare that I need to stop / sit down to get into bindings (and the latest generation have ratchets and all the micro-adjustability of normal straps, win / win.) Pomas were never designed for snowboarders but don't take ages to master, as you suggest, the guy I was teaching last week, fell on his first attempt and then got on fine with one after that - same for chair lift dismount.

There are loads of backcountry snowboarders, this really is a bit misleading (and pompous). You mention snow shoes, but make it sound like more of an ordeal than it is. There are also boards which split into skis. Also, the guy was asking for some pointers as to which sport would be worth picking up not which would ultimately lead to him pwning the entire backcountry.
 
Skidder said:
Also, the guy was asking for some pointers as to which sport would be worth picking up not which would ultimately lead to him pwning the entire backcountry.
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I know, typical superior skier bullcarp. :rolleyes:

They can't just say "try both and see which you like", like it's so important the guy does skiing otherwise his life will be ruined...
 
In your case I would say Ski - as your son will be able to copy you (unless you're crap ;)) and your missus can't complain that she has to be with your son all the time picking him up etc as you can't get back up the slope as you're strapped in to a gay tray :D

Is it not easier to have a couple of lessons on skis and a couple on snowboards and hten see which you prefer?


Seeing as how we've started another skiing/snowboarding debate I'll add my 2 pence worth.

I've never met an arrogant skiier in a park, a few spoilt kids with mummy and daddy in Val D'isere who almost wipe you out as they can't ski well and then shout at you as if you're scum because you can carve properly and they can't even do parallel turns. But never in a park, and never at Xscape either.

Eg. last time I was at SnowStorm there was a guy doing backflips on his skis, but he opted to miss out a couple of bumps before the main kicker and just hit said kicker, so was waiting patiently for a gap in the flow of traffic to go and hit the kicker. All the skiiers (bar a couple of chavs) gave him the thumbs up to go but every time he'd go to set off a ****ing boarder would cut him up and he'd have to walk back up a bit.

This is the case with most snowboarders in resorts too, they do stop over the brow of a crest, they do just turn whenever they like across an entire piste to go and do a stupid ******* ***** 180 on a 2ft kicker and then attempt to ride in 2" of powder and cover people in said powder who get in their way.

Also the only grief I've ever had on a piste was off some stupid french boarder who decided that he wanted to cut across in front of me as I was sat down on my skis (still skiing, just sat on the back - not stopped if you get me) and he actually went OVER my skis. Of course his board slipped and he almost fell over and started mouthing off something in French at me, to which I responded in a not-so-polite way. Next thing I know, he is at the bottom with about 5 or 6 boarders waiting for me and walking towards me giving it a load of mouth. As soon as I took my skis off though he shut up for some reason, not quite sure why as there were 5 or 6 of them and just me and a mate on our skis. Absolute ****er!

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Naf said:
In your case I would say Ski - as your son will be able to copy you (unless you're crap ;)) and your missus can't complain that she has to be with your son all the time picking him up etc as you can't get back up the slope as you're strapped in to a gay tray :D

Is it not easier to have a couple of lessons on skis and a couple on snowboards and hten see which you prefer?


Seeing as how we've started another skiing/snowboarding debate I'll add my 2 pence worth.

I've never met an arrogant skiier in a park, a few spoilt kids with mummy and daddy in Val D'isere who almost wipe you out as they can't ski well and then shout at you as if you're scum because you can carve properly and they can't even do parallel turns. But never in a park, and never at Xscape either.

Eg. last time I was at SnowStorm there was a guy doing backflips on his skis, but he opted to miss out a couple of bumps before the main kicker and just hit said kicker, so was waiting patiently for a gap in the flow of traffic to go and hit the kicker. All the skiiers (bar a couple of chavs) gave him the thumbs up to go but every time he'd go to set off a ****ing boarder would cut him up and he'd have to walk back up a bit.

This is the case with most snowboarders in resorts too, they do stop over the brow of a crest, they do just turn whenever they like across an entire piste to go and do a stupid ******* ***** 180 on a 2ft kicker and then attempt to ride in 2" of powder and cover people in said powder who get in their way.

Also the only grief I've ever had on a piste was off some stupid french boarder who decided that he wanted to cut across in front of me as I was sat down on my skis (still skiing, just sat on the back - not stopped if you get me) and he actually went OVER my skis. Of course his board slipped and he almost fell over and started mouthing off something in French at me, to which I responded in a not-so-polite way. Next thing I know, he is at the bottom with about 5 or 6 boarders waiting for me and walking towards me giving it a load of mouth. As soon as I took my skis off though he shut up for some reason, not quite sure why as there were 5 or 6 of them and just me and a mate on our skis. Absolute ****er!

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My mistake, everybody who rides a board is a complete pleb. Are you quick to judge on every subject or just dull, outdated sports-cliches?

The mountains allow for all kinds of fun, do what appeals and don't be a judgmental ***** like this guy.
 
I'd go with snowboarding as more fun and easier to learn overall to a good standard but skiing does have its plus points. If you'll only be doing it for a few days a year then snowboarding makes more sense to me as you'll get to a standard where you can go on almost any run more quickly and have a lot of fun doing it but if you've got the time to put in then skiing is a very valid alternative.

However when most people get good at one they don't want to start again to learn the other as being a beginner isn't as appealing as simply doing what you know and having fun on the mountain often.
 
thepeteh said:
for me snowboarding you just push snow about and it can be a little boring... and you know if you fall its really going to hurt. I learnt to snowboard by just renting a board and boots and basically throwing myself down red runs for a day... which worked and im now a confident snowboarder. But I would prefer to ski... way more fun you can go a lot faster and is just all round better (imo)
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I had my first attempt at snowboarding last weekend. Same story!! I had to swim down a black run, no chance. :D was better on saturday ( and clear blue sunny skies, a beer and half a chicken for lunch :p ), and Sunday got a go in powder as it snowed all day!

For me, it was just carving it up nice and smoothly that I loved. With skiing it seems more about finesse, which doesn't sound as good IMO. I'd still love to try it though.
 
Skidder said:
My mistake, everybody who rides a board is a complete pleb. Are you quick to judge on every subject or just dull, outdated sports-cliches?

The mountains allow for all kinds of fun, do what appeals and don't be a judgmental ***** like this guy.
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Whoa, didn't realise how much crap I was spouting that day! Bad day at work, what can I say (and I'd only been there 2hours...)

I wasn't meaning that all boarders are like that, just that in my experience the majority of aggrivation I've ever come across is from boarders, and most of them are actually pretty good and just seem to be up their own ****. So I do apologise for my biased rant :)


OP: I still say you may be better off skiing as you can help your son more and he may react better to you teaching him that an instructor?
 
Naf said:
OP: I still say you may be better off skiing as you can help your son more and he may react better to you teaching him that an instructor?
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It's almost certainly easier for getting up runs as small children can be rested against your leg for going up drag lifts, if it is chairlift/gondola/funicular then it isn't much of a consideration but it is worth thinking about at least.

Other than that I'm not sure if there are any major benefits in skiing over snowboarding at a young age.
 
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