So I tried snowboarding this past weekend....

[rideit]

Tele-ing Switch is THE BOMB!!!!

[powderfinger]

I think it's pretty funny the skiing v snowboarding thing is still alive.

[rideit]

Redundant arguments are the lifeblood of popular forums.


It's true.

[mavrick]

i wouldnt say it is alive at all... i have no problem with how people chooses to enjoy snow... i was just curious on the injury info and am a jong who hasnt been aroung to hear previous injury debates..... (and its not like any of us -- riders or skiers -- dont expect to get bitten by the injury bug at some point in our lives doing what we love to do..)

[powderfinger]

I wasn't refering to you at all mavrick.

[mavrick]

well then disregard my previous post!! and yes then I agree with you its funny how the debate lives on... I used to be a board basher big time growing up in the midwest and all... but one i got out to SLC I learned to appreciate people who are good at what they do.. cuz boarders can rip and it looks smooth as hell to watch... (notice i say watch... )

[jahoney]

i've done both

I've skied since I was 3, raced for squaw since I was 9 until I was like 15 I think. I tried snowboarding somewhere in that time (while I was racing) and I got decent at it (total of probably over 20-30 days) and skiing is SO much more enjoyable.

snowboarding is kinda fun, but have you ever tried to go fast over anything slightly bumpy? it's horrible, you need to rely on that 1 edge, and it's a pain in the ass IMO. So is strapping in at the top of the lift. BUT, finding your skis in the pow after falling is a bitch too, so it all depends.

[fortysix&2]

It's always cool to hear someone try something new and/or different on the snow. Don't give up.

I've been boarding for several years, and this year I've taken the plunge to learn to ski. I'm hooked; I have only boarded a handful of days since I started skiing. My take so far: skiing seems more natural because I am facing down the fallline; whereas, snowboarding I have to turn my hips and shoulders into the fallline. It definitely helped to have experience snowboarding because many of the same fundamentals can be applied to skiing. I'd imagine this principle can be applied from skiing to snowboarding, too.

[Deep Days]

Boarding seems to me to be so much less stable at speed--if one part of you is out of balance, you don't have another independent part of you to compensate, and you beater. And maching through crud? I'd imagine it would take more skill and experience to do that on a board than on skis (which is why I respect boarders who can do this).

I always felt like a day of boarding would be a day of skiing wasted... Thus, I have yet to try boarding. I was waiting to get bored in the spring last year and try it one day, but I didn't have a spring on snow. Maybe this year... but I have so many other things I can do on snowless days on skis: bash bumps, practice skiing tight tree lines, try to go fast on shitty snow, find decent hucks to hardpack, ski the park, etc., etc., etc.

Who wants to make a case for me to do otherwise?

I was kinda the same way on a boat. I'd spend about 80% of my time on a ski because wakeboarding kinda felt like time on the water wasted. I just LOOOVED the tremendous acceleration of a good turn on a ski, and I never got good enough at taking air on a board to make it worthwhile. Wonder if that would have changed if I'd had the chance to ski on a course for a while...

Edit to add: Jeremy Jones is a fucking demigod. A Badass with a capital B.

Edit 2: Do snowboarders ever get boot bang (or ankle bang)?

[tex1230]

i've done both

I've skied since I was 3, raced for squaw since I was 9 until I was like 15 I think. I tried snowboarding somewhere in that time (while I was racing) and I got decent at it (total of probably over 20-30 days) .

20-30 days is not enough time. give it a few years and report back,

and skiing is SO much more enjoyable.

snowboarding is kinda fun, but have you ever tried to go fast over anything slightly bumpy? it's horrible, you need to rely on that 1 edge, and it's a pain in the ass IMO. .

Bend your knees and go faster - it gets easier.

So is strapping in at the top of the lift. BUT, finding your skis in the pow after falling is a bitch too, so it all depends.

try step-in binders

[schuss]

I also tried boarding this past weekend. For me, it was the first time in a decade (10 years ago I tried and failed to learn in 2-3 days). I had a blast, but now my ass is half purple. Snowboards are more fun in Pow, in my opinion, but do suck ass on ice.

[bigsugar]

It is kinda funny that this "argument" is still "alive". I didn't mean to bash anyone elses favored snow-ride. I was just kinda making a personal observation. I think it's only natural to kind of look ahead to how you will feel about a sport once you perfect it.............right? But like a lot of people here have said, only time and experience will truly tell.

Anyways, I'm stoked and ready to ride sideways again in a couple days.

I'm going to work now.

[4matic]

Standing with your upper body twisted in respect to your lower body is easier on the joints?? Maybe compared to a skier rockin bumps.. but dont kno if i fully buy into that (not taking into consideration knee injuries from falls...) If any one can support 1 theory vs the other i would like to hear it...

My hip occasionally gets sore from snowboarding from twisting and impact on a twisted joint. For me skiing is hard on my knees due to the impact strain from chatter or static pressure on ice. Snowboarding has a shorter, softer, wider platform so the stresses are not as severe. It has nothing to do with crashing.

[mavrick]

I was kinda the same way on a boat. I'd spend about 80% of my time on a ski because wakeboarding kinda felt like time on the water wasted. I just LOOOVED the tremendous acceleration of a good turn on a ski, and I never got good enough at taking air on a board to make it worthwhile. Wonder if that would have changed if I'd had the chance to ski on a course for a while...

I used to be the same way till i started skiing in a course. Once I did that I was hooked and became super picky about water conditions because it is frustrating to ski the course on less than perfect water... This led me to wakeboard on the "bad" water and now I actually enjoy that almost as much as skiing since I can do some tricks... kinda crazy how that worked...

[warthog]

I'll never understand this arguement. Anyone arguing which is more fun is not an expert at both. Skiing has it's days, and boarding had it's days.

I learned to snowboard because I was stuck at a small hill that I was bored skiing. I rode about 80 days for prolly three years, one of those in Boulder. This was before the fat ski was around. Boarding had skiing beat in powder. I also preferred it on groomers. There is no feeling like a well executed frontside carve on corduroy, where your body is scooped up by the g's and held almost perpendicular to the snow for a split second. If you don't know what I am talking about, then you haven't gotten good enough yet.

Skiing was always my go to on those days after a powder day, where everything is pretty chewed up, but not groomed out yet. Skis were more stable on this, and I was more confident on my skis. Also, skis were much better for areas where I would be traversing a lot, like Jackson. I couldn't imagine boarding at Jackson. My calves hurt just thinking about it.

Nowadays, fat skis and long boards have come a long way. I feel just as confident in powder on my skis as I do on a board. I also feel confident maching through chewed up snow on a 163 NeverSummer. The boards and skis are just made better, and made for specific types of riding. It is a toss up as to what to use each day. I feel like I could have fun either way. Usually, it depends what the rest of my crew is doing.

No matter what, though. Nothing in skiing beats that frontside carve. Go get some of that, and tell me different.

[MOHSHSIHd]

I tried snowboarding last spring on my buddies gear just for shits and giggles....



man did I suck....all I could think was, "How in the HELL can anyone actually enjoy trying to ride that think with all that slop?".....i mean seriously.....im not trying to put down snowboarding (too much) but HOLY FUCKING SLOP BATMAN!

[DownhillRider]

I tried boarding on a friends board, in my regular shoes, being towed behind a car on a frozen lake at high speed and occasional (frequent) drifts. Now that is fun...was too lazy to put on my ski boots and skis.

[bcrider]

For me there really is no debate. Snowboarding is more closely related to surfing and skateboarding so that’s why I do it. Skiing is more closely related to water skiing on two skis and since I’m not a fan of that I don’t ski (on two skis).

I also like the simplicity of snowboarding…i.e its just you and the board. Not you….two skis, two poles, and fruitboots. Again the simplicity and pureness of it is much closer to surfing, i.e. you and the surfboard. Skiing is more like boogie boarding due to all the accessories you need like flippers (poles).

It’s all good though. People really do rip at both skiing and snowboarding and watching these types of people is a joy regardless of what they are on. When the tool becomes an extension of your body and becomes less of a device is when it gets fun.

Ps.

bash bumps

If you’re into “bashing bumps” then snowboarding isn’t for you and we don’t want you. You are a skier at heart and should stick with that.

[Buzzworthy]

I do both and split time about 50/50. I skied for ten years, boarded for 7 years and have been splitting time for the last 5 years. I estimate it takes about 20 full days of boarding to get it..and you can master snowboarding late in life and "feel" like an expert. If you didn't learn skiing early in life it never quite feels natural (jmo). some random thoughts:

1. Fat skis are easier than a snowboard in powder. All the elation over fat skis and reverse sidecut makes me laugh. It's snowboarding in drag. Skiers made fun of fat skis back in the day. I know because I had Rossignol axioms bought new in 1993; skiers routinely turned their noses up and made jokes.

2. I like skis in the pipe way more than a snow board. It's more dynamic and in someways easier than a snowboard.

3. It's easier to get around on skis and much more enjoyable in spring.

4. Skiing is more technically challenging. You have 4 apparatusus vs. one snowboard. 4 edges vs. 2.

5. Snowboarding is MUCH easier on your knees and leg joints. I'm glad I have snowboarding for my old age..

I love both sports equally for different reasons.

I have skied, raced, boarded for 10 years exclusively and am back to skiing and boarding about 50/50 too.

But I respectfully disagree with some of what you said:
1. Boarding in pow is SOOOOO much easier and fun than fat skis, IMO.
2. Dont do park, NA.
3. True if you are traversing a lot. Otherwise not really.
4. True and false. Number of apparatus does not play a huge role IMO. But I have skied more years than boarded and I am still not a good pow skier.
5. FALSE! Sking injuries: None. Boarding: Dislocated shoulder, left knee scope, right ankle sprain with fib. stress fracture.


Bigsugar, cool to see others out trying. Link some turns and the world opens up on a board. Keep at it!

[Cyber Cop]

snowboarding is easier for blokes with large wankers... you don't get the pendulum effect.

[Buzzworthy]

Conversely to your thinking, boarders rear legs tend to suffer more, due to weighting issues in powder/chunder, as I have observed.

Am I snowboarding wrong? My front leg is the sufferer. Like what Mav said above: "was just thinking from a posture standpoint that snowboarders upper bodies are twisted slightly down the hill causing a lot of torque to be placed on the leading knee/ankle... "

That is how my knee popped, torn fat pad above knee cap.

[Toadman]

A buddy of mine switched to boarding about 10 years back. Last year he tried a pair of the fat skis, and you guessed it, he never went back.

[Buzzworthy]

but I have so many other things I can do on snowless days on skis: bash bumps, practice skiing tight tree lines, try to go fast on shitty snow, find decent hucks to hardpack, ski the park, etc., etc., etc.

Who wants to make a case for me to do otherwise?)?

Um, broken neck? Nuff said.

.

Edit 2: Do snowboarders ever get boot bang (or ankle bang)?

I ride soft boots and no bang problems. However, first run of the season, foot cramps from hell.

[jfost]

ski injuries = knees and "gamekeepers thumb" from the pole strap, also deaths from hitting trees with cranium.

snowboard injuries = sep. shoulders, wrist sprains & fractures, "snowboarders fracture" (distal tip of fibula broken along with bad ankle sprain) <- this is what TO had in 2004! also, posterior scalp lacs from the dreaded scorpion - Usually this only happens once or twice though!

The thought is that the knees are "protected" by being tied to the same plank, mechanically preventing some of the extreme ranges of motion that cause knee injuries common in skiing. Ankle is vulnerable side to side though in soft boots.

[willywhit]

tell me again the advantages of fatty skis. I've been riding in hardshell snowboarding boots for almost 15 years now and have tried going back to soft boots and it feels like riding in sneakers. This year, I threw down and got some Solly 180 twintips & Tecnica Icons to get back into skiing.I do wanna get some phattys but phatty carving snowboards are makin' me smile lately