Snowboarders! Report In!

[Pigslilspaz]

Where is your home mountain? How long have you been going? and questions like that.

For me, been going to Northstar At Tahoe since I was 9 or 10, this is my 10th season boarding (skied 3 years before that when I lived in NH).

Currently riding a 148 Forum Youngblood, about 3-4 years on this board and it shows, (I'm 5'11'') Good thing about a short board though is that you can power through moguls quicker.

[Belial]

Umm I went last weekend and quit after 2 runs...fell and hurt my elbow so i quit lol

Skiing is way easier then snowboarding..

I won't go again unless the chick who asks me is a 7 or better.

[Spikes]

Umm I went last weekend and quit after 2 runs...fell and hurt my elbow so i quit lol

Skiing is way easier then snowboarding..

I won't go again unless the chick who asks me is a 7 or better.

Wuss

I've been boarding for 5 years, skiied for 5 years before that, 2 being on my area's race team.

Currently ride an LTD but looking into a new board as mine is too short.

Normally ski "Woods Valley" in CNY, but I went to Whiteface 2 weeks ago.

[shotgunneeley]

Went skiing with the family during Christmas. I entertained the idea of trying snow boarding...but only for a moment. Skiing seems to be much more hassle free since you can pole on flat terrain and don't have to unbuckle/rebuckle your board to walk. We greatly enjoy Breckenridge, CO.

[flight17]

I ski, but...

4 years, Seven Springs Ski Resort (about an hour and a half outside of Pittsburgh). I use ski blades.

[Pigslilspaz]

Went skiing with the family during Christmas. I entertained the idea of trying snow boarding...but only for a moment. Skiing seems to be much more hassle free since you can pole on flat terrain and don't have to unbuckle/rebuckle your board to walk. We greatly enjoy Breckenridge, CO.

I never get stuck on flats, would breeze by on them if my board wasn't so short that it wont even pass my shoulders. Fun thing about short boards besides moguls is that you can whip around quicker for 360's as well.

I really want to try ski blades, would back flip on them all day.

[Anaxogoras]

Went skiing with the family during Christmas. I entertained the idea of trying snow boarding...but only for a moment. Skiing seems to be much more hassle free since you can pole on flat terrain and don't have to unbuckle/rebuckle your board to walk. We greatly enjoy Breckenridge, CO.

There's a reason the Ski Patrol uses...skis.

However, it's surprising to hear people say that skiing is easier than snowboarding.  The former is more complicated: you have four sticks, one on each leg, and two more sticks in your hands, and you have to coordinate all of them together.  I've seen plenty of youngsters who struggled with skiing, but who picked up snowboarding with ease.

Personally, I enjoy both, and I've never understood why most only do one or the other.

What's interesting is how snowboarding has influenced ski design.  For decades, skiing was taught the wrong way.  Beginners were told to shift their weight from one leg to the other in order to turn, which is slow, offbalance, and bad-habit forming.  For some reason, expert skiers were unable to observe their own technique, which is to seamlessly take both skis off-edge at the same time, in conjunction with torque generated by rotation of the lower body, to accomplish a turn.  Now skis are made shorter, wider, and with the parabolic shape of the snowboard to make it easier to learn.  All you have to do is put them on edge to turn, but I can't help thinking this will only perpetuate misconceptions into the future.  After all, the secret to the snowboard's ease of use is not its shape or short length, but simply the fact that you only have one stick to worry about instead of four.

[Mirage]

I have boarded for 5 or six years, but switched back to skiing when I cracked my skull doing a double backflip over a fin, so now I just do it for the veiw as opposed to drinking in the terrain park with my friends and getting hurt

[jd]

I took my 16y/o son to Boreal last year.

I didnt get through the snowboard lesson while my son took right to it and left me at the bottom of the lift.

Turns out thats just fine with me , he tore it up while i sipped my favorite anti- freeze.

Good times,..goood times

[spitfreak01]

i went in the French alps... I felt from a 1.5 M rundown. that was a month ago... still hurts so do'nt ask  but it was quite amazing   

[Anaxogoras]

My favorite hill in CA is Kirkwood.  Other Tahoe area resorts are too low.

Other favorites are Mt. Bachelor, little cottonwood canyon in Utah (Snowbird/Alta), and, of course, Whistler/Blackcomb.  I've skied Colorado a few times, but the conditions have been wildly inconsistent.  It bothers me that there might not be a good snowpack until Spring.

[Motherland]

There's a reason the Ski Patrol uses...skis.

However, it's surprising to hear people say that skiing is easier than snowboarding.  The former is more complicated: you have four sticks, one on each leg, and two more sticks in your hands, and you have to coordinate all of them together.  I've seen plenty of youngsters who struggled with skiing, but who picked up snowboarding with ease.

Personally, I enjoy both, and I've never understood why most only do one or the other.

What's interesting is how snowboarding has influenced ski design.  For decades, skiing was taught the wrong way.  Beginners were told to shift their weight from one leg to the other in order to turn, which is slow, offbalance, and bad-habit forming.  For some reason, expert skiers were unable to observe their own technique, which is to seamlessly take both skis off-edge at the same time, in conjunction with torque generated by rotation of the lower body, to accomplish a turn.  Now skis are made shorter, wider, and with the parabolic shape of the snowboard to make it easier to learn.  All you have to do is put them on edge to turn, but I can't help thinking this will only perpetuate misconceptions into the future.  After all, the secret to the snowboard's ease of use is not its shape or short length, but simply the fact that you only have one stick to worry about instead of four.

I tried snowboarding last week and found it much less intuitive than skiing... everything about it is just... weird... also a lot more strenuous than skiing is. Also catching a toe-edge while you're trying to plow down on your heels is not very fun, nothing is comparable in skiing that I've so far been able to do to myself.

Skiing is extremely intuitive, very easy to pic up IMO... where I ski you always see little kids going down the hill and just pointing their arms the way they want to go and they do it. Even for me (I'm extremely uncoordinated, and afraid of heights no less) it was fairly easy to get used to.

Snowboarding seems fun enough, there just doesn't seem like there's any payoff to reinventing the wheel, more or less, when I can already ski with some level of competence.

That said I've only been skiing since last spring and I don't even have my own gear, I'm hardly an expert on winter sports

[Anaxogoras]

Heel is edge is tricky at first if you're experienced with skis.  The most important thing is to "sit-down" through them.  Once I learned to do that, no more painful belly flops.

This is my opinion, of course, but I think skiers find snowboarding difficult because skis are very effective and versatile (again, there's a reason the ski-patrol doesn't snowboard on duty).  When you move to a snowboard you feel a bit limited (because you need downhill to get moving) and sloppy with the single edge.  Keep at it though and you'll find it's a lot of fun.

[druski85]

Been skiing for 20 + years, although lately much less than in years past.  Mix it up with a couple years doing terrain park freestyle, the rest alpine racing.  I grew up at a little place in Western NY called Bristol "Mountain."

I tried boarding once or twice, but was simply not impressed.  The three main reasons I will stick to skis:
1.  Speed.  I don't care how many people say "you can go fast on a board!"  Yea, you're right.  Good luck doin 60 mph down a super G course and maintaining control on a board, though.  For me, controlled speed = fun.
2.  Versatility.  As mentioned earlier, I can get through tight places with greater ease, and flats are not a problem.  Also, (P38 drivers pay attention here) if half your equipment fails you're not completely screwed.
3.  Style.  I don't care how cool a 720 nose grab looks on a board.  It will, in my mind, ALWAYS look better on skis simply because there is so much more going on.  Make it switch and mix in mute grab, and you've got one BA looking trick.  However, I don't have the cajones to attempt it these days.  

That being said, I'm glad to see boarding has made the progress it has over the years.  A good deal of people really enjoy it, and as Anax mentioned, a lot of the technologies are mutually beneficial.  I just wish the X games and other events would quit putting boarding events in the prime time slots.  

[Bored123]

Been boarding about a 1 full season. i ride a Burton Hate 155. Mt. Bachelor.