I’ve never done either. I need to find a wintertime outdoor activity lest I go nuts in this climate.
I have never surfed or ridden a skateboard, so I don’t have that sort of skill set or balance to rely on for snowboarding.
I know a couple people who have really screwed up their knee while skiing, so I have been reluctant to take up skiing for fear of the same. I bike alot in warm weather and don’t want to blow a knee skiing and be unable to bike.
Which is more fun? Which would be less risky for the knees? Also, I hear snowboarding is a killer workout, but don’t see why it would be any better than skiing.
I snowboard. It’s like a 6 hour squat. Hurts so good. I fucking love it. To be fair, I’ve never skied (sp?). It scares me to have my legs go in different directions. Like around a tree. Plus boards don’t fly off your feet when you crash, which you will in the first couple years. A lot.
Haven’t thought much about the knee injury aspect, I just love to ride. Plenty of skiers will tell you the same. Either way, it’s fun. I’d say go twice, rent a board first, then skis. Whichever one you don’t hate, go with that.
In regard to the “skill set,” I grew up on skis but when I decided to snowboard around age 15 or so I picked it up a lot faster. I never skateboarded either, I think it’s just due to the fact that your feet are fixed instead of independent, so once your body grasps the concept it’s easier to develop fluency.
But yes, the initial faceplants/buttplants are definitely more bone jarring than ski crashes. (Maybe that’s why I learned fast.)
[quote]AceRock wrote:
I snowboard. It’s like a 6 hour squat. Hurts so good. I fucking love it. To be fair, I’ve never skied (sp?). It scares me to have my legs go in different directions. Like around a tree. Plus boards don’t fly off your feet when you crash, which you will in the first couple years. A lot.
Haven’t thought much about the knee injury aspect, I just love to ride. Plenty of skiers will tell you the same. Either way, it’s fun. I’d say go twice, rent a board first, then skis. Whichever one you don’t hate, go with that.[/quote]
Skis are designed to come off your feet when you crash so you don’t f*ck up your knees when they twist around mid tumble.
To the OP, consider versatility as well. Skiing and snowboarding can both be relatively easy to learn, but ask yourself if you want to stop to strap or unstrap a foot every time you hit a flat spot, get on the lift, get off the lift, etc…
Both can be a great workout for your legs. If you want a real challenge, consider Telemark (free heel) skiing. It’s tough to master technically and physically, but is pretty much the most versatile form of sliding on snow.
[quote]sluicy wrote:
In regard to the “skill set,” I grew up on skis but when I decided to snowboard around age 15 or so I picked it up a lot faster. I never skateboarded either, I think it’s just due to the fact that your feet are fixed instead of independent, so once your body grasps the concept it’s easier to develop fluency.
But yes, the initial faceplants/buttplants are definitely more bone jarring than ski crashes. (Maybe that’s why I learned fast.) [/quote]
I’ve converted a lot of skiers to snowboarding and one distinct advantage that skiers have in the learning curve is knowing how to use their uphill edge.
Beginners end up cutting in to the snow with their downhill edge and slap face first off of the slope. It’s one of those actions that just can’t be conveyed or understood verbally.
[quote]Sharp4850 wrote:
To the OP, consider versatility as well. Skiing and snowboarding can both be relatively easy to learn, but ask yourself if you want to stop to strap or unstrap a foot every time you hit a flat spot, get on the lift, get off the lift, etc…
Both can be a great workout for your legs. If you want a real challenge, consider Telemark (free heel) skiing. It’s tough to master technically and physically, but is pretty much the most versatile form of sliding on snow.[/quote]
Telemarking is gayer than Liberace.
Snowboarding has a massive following and participation of tremendously hot women who will tear their clothes off and jump in a hot tub at the drop of a hat.
[quote]SSC wrote:
Snowboarding kicks skiing’s ass ANY day of the week. Don’t be a pussy.[/quote]
Oh I’m still gonna give snowboarding a shot. It just happened that skiing came up first. Are you a convert from skiing to snowboarding? My boss knows someone who gave up skiing after 20 years and now exclusively snowboards.
Hence, young Hurley/Affliction types bro out and snowboard.
I am a skier. Because I grew up a skier, I hate snowboarders. If you were a skier you’d understand. It’s really hard to explain except that while the snowboarders are broing out IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GOD DAMN SLOPE ON THEIR ASSES, you can work on your slalom skills. Shrugged shoulders and poor posture, it’s like 10000 Kurt Kobains are strapped to a single piece of wood and being cool down the mountain.
If you can skate, you can ski. Start out with some short boards and you’ll be having a blast in no time.
Snowboarding is fun too, but like everyone else said, you’ll get a few facials. I never had any knee issues from skiing or boarding but I did break my thumb and a couple ribs, but the jump was worth it LOL.
[quote]msd0060 wrote:
Snowboarding is “cool” like skateboarding.
Skiing is as cool as rollerblading.
Hence, young Hurley/Affliction types bro out and snowboard.
I am a skier. Because I grew up a skier, I hate snowboarders. If you were a skier you’d understand. It’s really hard to explain except that while the snowboarders are broing out IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GOD DAMN SLOPE ON THEIR ASSES, you can work on your slalom skills. Shrugged shoulders and poor posture, it’s like 10000 Kurt Kobains are strapped to a single piece of wood and being cool down the mountain.[/quote]
Thanks for saying what I was afraid to.
I like how snowboarding is on the list of Stuff White People Like.
[quote]SSC wrote:
Snowboarding kicks skiing’s ass ANY day of the week. Don’t be a pussy.[/quote]
Oh I’m still gonna give snowboarding a shot. It just happened that skiing came up first. Are you a convert from skiing to snowboarding? My boss knows someone who gave up skiing after 20 years and now exclusively snowboards. [/quote]
Nah, I’m a snowboarder exclusively of about 10 years now. I know lots of people that dabble in both and either converted from one to another, and I’m to understand that snowboarding overall takes much more patience, confidence, and has a steeper learning curve opposed to skiing.
You can’t rip through bumps and trees on a snowboard like you can on skis (need I say more? :P.) I’m not sure how often you plan on going or how into it you’re going to get, but skiing is usually easier to learn at first for most people as opposed to snowboarding. However, I would say it is more difficult to get uber good at skiing than it is for snowboarding, simply because it’s much more technical. Personally I ski, so the one thing I’ll say to you if you try to snowboard is please, for fucks sake, don’t scrape all the snow off the slopes when you’re learning ;p.
There are many many mountains where traversing is mandatory, on a snowboard you are going to be un-straping and walking. At any mountain there will be stashes and “side country” or “slack country” that requires traversing, again, this is going to be very difficult on a snowboard. We are not talking about a small difference here either.
When you are crossing perfectly flat terrain on skis you can just skate and glide, on a board you are walking. I would say in these situations skis are easily 10x faster. How well one performs vs the other on flat ground may seem unimportant now but if you ever get into the sport seriously you will be doing LOTS of traversing- do not short change yourself.
Twice the effective edge plus independent leg movement equals a much faster, technical, agile sport. Skiing will allow you to tackle terrain in a way that just can’t be done on a snowboard.
Other less important reasons not to snowboard-
1- Heel side = blindside , happens everyday.
2- non releasable bindings = “wheel of destruction”
3- Snowboarding is a fashion show, although I will admit that is is happening in skiing it is mainly restricted to the under 15 crowd.
Most serious skiers hate snowboarders and amongst core skiers the sport is regarded as laughable.
Just to add as an example - At Fernie, B.C, easily 20% of the terrain isn’t accessible by snowboard(well technically it is but it would require an hours hike vs 6/7 min traverse/sidestep on skis). This 20% is also probably some of the best terrain the mountain has to offer and also where all the powder is!