i'm gonna go ahead and say it

[tuffy109]

surfing is better than skiing.

[DJSapp]

Originally posted by tuffy109
surfing is better than skiing.

DPPS

[Superstar Punani]

Originally posted by tuffy109
surfing is better than skiing.

I've thought of this many times. Surfer for 17 years, skier for 11.

With skiing, you can have fun no matter what the conditions. Ice/boilerplate, etc...you can still huck it and point 'em. All we need is a storm and we're happy campers.

Surfing...when the surf is shit you're fucked. You need something just short of a cosmic alignment to score insane waves...right tide, right wind, right swell, right swell direction, no crowds, etc....

Between a 2-week AK heli trip with bluebird skies and powder every day, or a 2 week Mentawai adventure in 6-12 foot perfect barrels, I'd take Indo over AK any time.

Surfing or Skiing? That still depends....if it's everyday stuff....mediocre 3-4 foot peaks and skier=packed pow, I'd take skiing, but between firing 8-10 foot barrels and bottomless pow I'd take barrels any day.....

[cj001f]

Originally posted by tuffy109
surfing is better than skiing.

The world has more mountains, more lines, than it has surf spots.

If this isn't true - it's certainly true that untouched ski lines in epic conditions are much easier to find than a break to yourself in epic conditions (at least close to home)

[tuffy109]

nobody's said anything to dissuade me yet.

3-4 foot peaks VS packed powder? no

when the surf is shit? VS when you're not working and it doesn't snow more than once b/w march and april?

more mountains than spots? you can go to more places skiing? well, by the nature of land mass against shoreline, yes. but have you ever skied in mexico? puerto rico? etc.

my opinion no doubt will begin swaying by next november, but in the mean time...

[hop]

I agree. Even though I'm new and still a shitty surfer, GIVEN RELATIVELY EQUAL CONDITIONS (skiing: good stable off-piste and surfing: any wave that I don't die on with nobody in my way), surfing has more to offer.
Sure, a ride on a wave doesn't last much more than a minute at best compared to many thousands of feet for a good descent, but the main thing that skiing will never have on surfing is the fact that when you're surfing, you're moving on a medium that is also moving. When you're skiing you're sliding on a static surface.

It's the shit. I would trade every ounce of skiing ability and opportunity I have for equal ability and opportunity with surfing in a second.

[rightcoast]

ive had people ask me this many times "if you could do only 1 for the rest of your life, would you surf or ski?"
Its so tough, but i think id take the ocean also.

[cj001f]

Originally posted by tuffy109 more mountains than spots? you can go to more places skiing? well, by the nature of land mass against shoreline, yes. but have you ever skied in mexico? puerto rico? etc.[/B]

Ever surfed in Kazakhstan, Tibet, Nepal? Each one of those probably has more untapped ski lines than the world has surf spots.

The feeling of riding a wave is incomparable - better than skiing all but the best powder. Rhythym of surfing is also better.

But there's that nasty, nasty thing called reality. Just about every break closeby is crowded when I go. Especially when I go back Santa Cruz. Lineup pecking order, boards everywhere, 'tude. Ruins the whole buzz. Sure there are out of the way breaks - but they're just that - out of the way, and usually not as good.

[tuffy109]

Originally posted by cj001f
Ever surfed in Kazakhstan, Tibet, Nepal? Each one of those probably has more untapped ski lines than the world has surf spots.

i already gave you that point.

[tuffy109]

[comish]

But there's that nasty, nasty thing called reality. Just about every break closeby is crowded when I go. Especially when I go back Santa Cruz. Lineup pecking order, boards everywhere, 'tude. Ruins the whole buzz. Sure there are out of the way breaks - but they're just that - out of the way, and usually not as good.

This is the part about surfing that sucks and for me makes skiing better. Give me a day in backcountry away from all the BS and its tough to beat that.

Now I'm spoiled and my parents have a place right on the beach with practically a private break in front which is probably one reason I don't dig dealing with the crowds, attitude, etc that exist at good breaks. Its not an amazing break, but can be quite good some days (last friday springs to mind). Like SuPu says though, it takes a cosmic intervention for things to really fire on this puppy, where as every weekend I went to Mammy last year was a blast. Didn't matter if it was pow, mammy windbuff, or spring corn, they were all more fun than an average surf day for me. It gets harder for sure when the swell picks up. but an average Mammy or BC day is better than the average 2-3 foot SoCal surf.

Now 6-8 ft surf better than deeep pow day, that gets harder...

[Superstar Punani]

Originally posted by comish


Now 6-8 ft surf better than deeep pow day, that gets harder...

Since 1 picture = 1,000 words:


2 weeks of this...



or this?



I'd take the uncrowded tropical barrels

[tuffy109]

i could easily surf before work, during lunch and after work. it probably takes me 2-3 minutes to be in the water after deciding whether to go out or not (let's just put aside the fact that i live at the beach).

i can only get to the mountains on weekends, it takes a 4-5 hour drive and it's going to cost me quite a few dollars. skiing is an all day thing, ie. if i'm going skiing, i'm getting nothing else done that day.

[mountainbored]

Originally posted by tuffy109
surfing is better than skiing.

Word.

[tuffy109]

ok, well we've got a majority now. let's take it to the big board.

[Superstar Punani]

Originally posted by tuffy109
ok, well we've got a majority now. let's take it to the big board.

http://tetongravity.com/forums/showt...threadid=12435

[shamrockpow]

Question that maybe only Dudele can answer, but: is the surf in Chile and Peru pretty much the same as the surf in Cali and Mexico? Cause I travelled a lot on the coast down there and saw almost no surfers, even in the so-called "big surf towns"

[mountainbored]

And Then?Topic=Surf, it's Summer you potchenevadavallechile lucky fucks. Lobos.

[Arty50]

How about these:

rocks vs. trees
corral vs. snowsnakes
sharks vs. gapers
jellyfish vs. tree branches

Any others?

[comish]

Question that maybe only Dudele can answer, but: is the surf in Chile and Peru pretty much the same as the surf in Cali and Mexico? Cause I travelled a lot on the coast down there and saw almost no surfers, even in the so-called "big surf towns"

Surfed a little in Chile a bunch of years ago, around the time I skied the Andes.

Basically as everyone in Vietnam said "same, same, but different"

The water is WAY colder on the whole. Way fewer surfers with far fewer towns, development, etc. That being said there are a few coastal developments similar to Cali, but not much. It is also far more undiscovered. Ran into a dude who had worked his way south from Cali, gone all the way up the eastern seaboard of So. Am. and come back to Chile because he said it had the best, least crowded surf. Now you have to get comfy with the 4mm, booties, and hood depending on how far south you go, but big waves with few people are far more possible there than Ca.

[stompinlines]

Originally posted by cj001f
The world has more mountains, more lines, than it has surf spots.

If this isn't true - it's certainly true that untouched ski lines in epic conditions are much easier to find than a break to yourself in epic conditions (at least close to home)

What do you consider a surf spot? There is a movie about finding the biggest wave to ride. It is called Billabong Odyssey...good flick, watch it. Are you saying that skiing is better because epic conditions are more accessible?

[stompinlines]

Originally posted by hop
I agree. Even though I'm new and still a shitty surfer, GIVEN RELATIVELY EQUAL CONDITIONS (skiing: good stable off-piste and surfing: any wave that I don't die on with nobody in my way), surfing has more to offer.
Sure, a ride on a wave doesn't last much more than a minute at best compared to many thousands of feet for a good descent, but the main thing that skiing will never have on surfing is the fact that when you're surfing, you're moving on a medium that is also moving. When you're skiing you're sliding on a static surface.

It's the shit. I would trade every ounce of skiing ability and opportunity I have for equal ability and opportunity with surfing in a second.

I´m a fucking newbie surfer but I couldn´t agree more with your thoughts regarding moving on a medium that is also moving.

[bossass]

Apples and Oranges. This is sort of a stupid debate.

AK vs. Indo = tough choice

I'd take AK just based on the fact that it's a more expensive trip I'd be less likely to have the chance to go on.

They are both sports with fleeting moments of perfection that keep drawing us back time after time. Both have their difficulties, but I think it's sort of pointless to discuss the logistics of the two, like how accessible the are and how much gear you need, etc.

Talk about the moment of perfection itself and I think you will find the two quite similar.

[tuffy109]

Originally posted by bossass
Apples and Oranges. This is sort of a stupid debate.

i'm sorry, should i delete it?

it's just an opinion, not a problem with society that needs to be worked out.

[tuffy109]

Originally posted by Arty50

sharks vs. gapers

no, it's:

sharks vs. bears
gapers vs kooks (ie, you)